U.23 hopes to repeat the miracle of Changzhou: Why not, what needs to be reformed?

Vietnam U23 won all 3 matches in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round. However, the nature of the final round will be completely different from the qualifying round, so coach Kim Sang-sik's team needs to improve themselves soon.

Interesting parameters of U.23 Vietnam

Vietnam U23 won all 3 qualifying matches, against Bangladesh U23, Singapore U23 and Yemen U23, without conceding any goals. These are details that reflect the superiority of the team under coach Kim Sang-sik, compared to the opponents in Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers.

The strikers of U.23 Vietnam have poor scoring efficiency.

Photo: Minh Tu

However, there are still some parameters that show that U.23 Vietnam still needs to improve before participating in the final round of the continental tournament, taking place in January next year. First, U.23 Vietnam scored 4 goals after 3 qualifying matches, an average of about 1.33 goals/match. This is not a high scoring rate.

Second, the two strikers who regularly play at the highest level in the U.23 Vietnam squad in the U.23 Asian qualifiers, Dinh Bac and Quoc Viet, have not scored any goals in the past three matches. Quoc Viet, in particular, has been a huge disappointment, as he not only failed to score, but also failed to put enough pressure on the opposing defense.

These are the things that need to change in the final round. Compared to the qualifying round, the opponents of U.23 Vietnam in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship are much stronger. When facing strong opponents in the final round, scoring opportunities will not come as easily as in the qualifying round. Therefore, U.23 Vietnam's strikers need to be more effective and more sensitive in front of the opponent's goal.

Only by making good use of scoring opportunities, can U.23 Vietnam win against their opponents in the finals, from which we can hope to reach the goals we set for this tournament (pass the group stage, reach bigger surprises...)

Improve physical fitness

The next issue that U.23 Vietnam needs to pay attention to before the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship finals is the physical strength and endurance of the players. It can be seen that in the match with U.23 Yemen on the evening of September 9, U.23 Vietnam had a much harder time playing than when we met U.23 Bangladesh and Singapore the previous days.

The opponent has good physical strength, making it difficult for the U.23 Vietnam players to play.

Photo: Minh Tu

The main reason why U.23 Vietnam had a hard time playing against U.23 Yemen was that the players from West Asia had very good physical strength, they stuck closely to the Vietnamese players, making it difficult for coach Kim Sang-sik's students to show off their individual skills.

Thanks to their good physical strength, the U.23 Yemen players did not hesitate to collide strongly with the Vietnamese players, making the home players even more cautious in one-on-one situations.

Compared to Yemen players, most of the teams that will appear at the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship finals have similar physical strength, or even better physical strength. Therefore, the challenge for coach Kim Sang-sik's team will be greater.

This is something that U.23 Vietnam will have to consider in the coming time. Coach Kim Sang-sik needs to have suitable exercises to improve the physical strength of the players, at the same time, Mr. Kim can add more players with good qualities and good physical strength, aiming to shorten the gap, even equalize in terms of muscle strength with Asian opponents. Among the added players, there may appear the "giant" center-back currently playing for HAGL Dinh Quang Kiet (1.96 m tall), a very promising face, who can help U.23 Vietnam become stronger.

Recently, VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan affirmed that the continuous participation in the final round from 2016 to present, including the runner-up position in 2018, is clear evidence of the investment and correct orientation in developing youth football in Vietnam.

Will U.23 Vietnam create another miracle like in Changzhou last year?

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-nuoi-khat-vong-tai-lap-ky-tich-thuong-chau-tai-sao-khong-can-cai-to-dieu-gi-185250910021107615.htm