Latest U.23 Vietnam match schedule: Extremely 'strange' match time, why doesn't VTV have the television copyright?

The Vietnam U.23 team is eager to prove itself in order to continue its streak of passing the group stage in its sixth consecutive participation in the U.23 Asian Cup.

U.23 Vietnam aims to at least pass the group stage of the 2026 U.23 Asian Championship

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

U.23 Vietnam starts at 'Bright Pearl'

U.23 Vietnam will begin their journey to conquer the 2026 U.23 Asian Cup with the opening match against U.23 Jordan at 6:30 p.m. Vietnam time on January 6, 2026 at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium. nicknamed "The Shining Pearl".

This is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sports City, about 30 km north of Jeddah. The Sports City was named after King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia when the stadium was inaugurated in January 2014.

The "bright pearl" is a very modern stadium with a capacity of 62,345 seats, built at a total cost of about 560 million USD. This is the home ground of 2 big clubs in Saudi Arabia: Al-Ittihdad (Jeddah, with famous players Ryad Mahrez, Edouard Mendy...) and Al-Ahli Saudi FC (Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Febinho...).

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Match schedule of U.23 Vietnam at U.23 Asia 2026

Photo: VFF

Fans cheer at midnight

U.23 Vietnam will play the second match in the group stage, against U.23 Kyrgyzstan, a newcomer and unknown factor of the tournament, still at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, but at 9:00 p.m. Vietnam time on January 9.

In the final match of the group stage, considered the "final" for the chance to continue, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will move to play at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium located in the southeast of Jeddah City.

This is a football stadium built in 1970 with a capacity of about 27,000 seats, then had major renovations from 2021 to 2023, and hosted 2 matches at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.

Coach Kim Sang-sik owns 100% of the U.23 Vietnam team playing in the V-League.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

The match against host Saudi Arabia will also be the match with the latest kick-off time among the 3 group stage matches of U.23 Vietnam, when the referee will start at 11:30 p.m. Vietnam time on January 12, 2026 (7:30 p.m. local time), the same time as the confrontation between the 2 remaining opponents Jordan - Kyrgyzstan in group A.

Group A's draw results are considered not too harsh but also contain many surprises when gathering the host team Saudi Arabia and 3 U.23 teams Vietnam, Jordan and Kyrgyzstan all ranked first in their group in the qualifying round.

Therefore, VFF affirmed that it will plan a good training program for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team with 11-12 matches, including 2 friendly matches with U.23 Qatar in the UAE in October, participating in a four-team friendly tournament in China, then competing for the 33rd SEA Games gold medal in Thailand, and in January 2026, will look for more "green troops" before playing the opening match in Saudi Arabia.

K+ will broadcast all matches live, including those of U.23 Vietnam. K+ has exclusive rights to broadcast Asian tournaments that Vietnam football participates in, including the U.23 Asian Cup. If any unit wants to re-broadcast (such as VTV,FPT Play...), it will need to work with K+ to negotiate.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-u23-viet-nam-moi-nhat-da-khung-gio-cuc-la-tai-sao-vtv-khong-co-ban-quyen-truyen-hinh-185251004094551506.htm