Hard-fought victory over Yemen, U23 Vietnam wins ticket to U23 Asia 2026

On the evening of September 9, U23 Vietnam won 1-0 against U23 Yemen in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers.

U23 Vietnam won a ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship after defeating U23 Yemen - Photo: NGOC LE

This is a match where U23 Vietnam only needs a draw to qualify for the final round. However, coach Kim Sang Sik's selection of players left many questions. He surprisingly let Quoc Viet and Ngoc My start even though they had not played regularly before.

Therefore, although U23 Vietnam controlled the ball and applied pressure, they lacked sharpness at the decisive moment. The home team appeared quite deadlocked, while U23 Yemen had many dangerous situations. Most notably was Al Dugin's dangerous header right in the penalty area in the last minute of extra time. Luckily, goalkeeper Trung Kien focused to block it.

Besides this play, strikers like Mahroos and Al-Sharafi also had opportunities that they could not take advantage of.

With that deadlock, Coach Kim Sang Sik was forced to make a very early substitution. In just the 40th minute, he withdrew 3 players from the field, Khuat Van Khang, Quoc Viet, Ngoc My, and sent in Dinh Bac, Thanh Nhan, and Van Thuan. This group of players just entered the field and created stormy situations.

In the second half, U23 Vietnam continued to play proactively, pressing the field. In that situation, the defensive players were negligent and lacked vigilance. That is why U23 Yemen continued to be the team with many dangerous moves, but still could not take advantage.

It was not until 70 minutes that the fans could breathe a sigh of relief. Thanh Nhan, after a pass-and-go with his teammate, had space in the penalty area. His powerful shot brought a valuable opening goal for the home team.

Thanh Nhan's only goal helped U23 Vietnam win a hard-fought 1-0 victory. With this result, they officially won the top spot in Group C and won a ticket to the final round of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

• Pre-match information
• Summary
• Match progress

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thang-nhoc-nhan-yemen-u23-viet-nam-gianh-ve-du-giai-u23-chau-a-2026-20250909144132248.htm