Thong Nhat Stadium provides maximum support, Vietnam team determined to defeat Nepal

WELCOME TO THE TEAM AFTER 3 YEARS

The Nepal Football Federation's initiative to request the VFF to move their home match scheduled for October 14 from Kathmandu to Vietnam has opened up an opportunity for the Vietnamese team to meet fans in Ho Chi Minh City again. After discussing with the Board of Directors of the Thong Nhat Sports Center, the VFF received a written consent from this unit, officially finalizing the plan for the Vietnamese team to play two matches with Nepal in Ho Chi Minh City: Go Dau Stadium on October 9 and Thong Nhat Stadium on October 14.

Sân Thống Nhất hỗ trợ tối đa, đội tuyển Việt Nam quyết đánh bại Nepal- Ảnh 1. — Khuat Van Khang (12) scored on his debut for the Vietnamese national team at Thong Nhat Stadium in October 2022.

So after 3 years of absence since the Hung Thinh Friendly Cup in October 2022, the Vietnamese team will return to Thong Nhat Stadium. Before that, coach Philippe Troussier and the first year of coach Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnamese team mainly played in the North, if they went to the South, they would have to choose the stadium in the old Binh Duong . The simple reason is that Thong Nhat Stadium is degraded, especially the B stand (3,500 seats) must ban spectators, causing the total capacity to reduce to only 10,000 people.

However, it can be affirmed that the Vietnamese and Nepalese teams will receive the best support conditions from Thong Nhat Stadium, in which the B stand area will be reserved for the arrangement of the flag. Director of Thong Nhat Sports Center, Mr. Nguyen Huu Thanh, shared: "After receiving the request from VFF, we have sent a written response in agreement. This is very good news for Ho Chi Minh City fans. Surely people will be very excited to wait for the match because it has been 3 years since they have seen the Vietnamese team visit and compete in Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, we are very supportive when VFF mentioned bringing the match with Nepal on October 14 to Thong Nhat Stadium. We will have the best preparation to maximally support the professional requirements of VFF, the Vietnamese team and Nepal. If there is no match schedule in V-League or first division, Thong Nhat Stadium will arrange the best training sessions for the two teams, or accompanying activities of VFF. We determine this is a national responsibility...".

Cheapening the Force

The Vietnamese team aims to win all 6 points in the 2 matches against Nepal to maintain competition with Malaysia in the race for a ticket in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team's chances of advancing are still quite narrow after losing 0-4 to Malaysia in the first leg, but the return match in March 2026 is still very important. Even if they cannot turn the tables (must win by 4 goals or more to compare goal difference), a good performance and result at home is still of great significance. In the long-term strategy, Mr. Kim wants to ensure that the Vietnamese team's desire to win is maintained, while increasing competition for each position in the context of the U.23 Vietnamese players gradually becoming more mature.

The 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian Championship and 3 absolute victories without conceding any goals in the 2026 U.23 Asian Championship qualifiers are helping U.23 Vietnam to inspire growing confidence from fans. In fact, the maturity of this team was sown under Coach Troussier, and continued to be promoted under Coach Kim Sang-sik. Names such as Dinh Bac, Van Khang, Trung Kien, Van Truong, Thanh Nhan, Thai Son... have been called up and played for the Vietnamese team many times in the past few years. Meanwhile, Hieu Minh, Ly Duc, Phi Hoang, Le Viktor, Ngoc My, Xuan Bac are showing clear progress. In particular, Mr. Kim is having a great advantage when the trend of rejuvenation in clubs helps U.23 Vietnam players play more in the V-League arena. Meeting Nepal (ranked 63 places below Vietnam on the FIFA rankings) will be an opportunity for Mr. Kim to further promote the rejuvenation of the Vietnamese team.

Renovating and upgrading Thong Nhat Stadium

The project to renovate and upgrade Thong Nhat Stadium is expected to start at the end of December, lasting for 1 year to dismantle stand B, build stands B, C1, D1 on 3 floors, build a parking basement, repair stands A, C, D, redo the grass surface... After renovation, the expected capacity of Thong Nhat Stadium will be nearly 18,000 seats.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/san-thong-nhat-ho-tro-toi-da-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-quyet-danh-bai-nepal-185250911192137065.htm