U.23 Vietnam has found its backbone, ready to conquer Southeast Asia

Coach Kim Sang-sik has found the backbone of the Vietnam U.23 team. Mr. Kim believes in the best players at the moment.

Defense with 2 young stars of HAGL

In the goalkeeper position of the U.23 Vietnam team, the young star of HAGL Club Tran Trung Kien is dominating, thanks to his physique (1.91 m tall) and thanks to his regular participation in the V-League. The matches in the national championship help this goalkeeper to improve his skills. When returning to a youth tournament like the U.23 Southeast Asia tournament, it is highly likely that the young players in the region will not be able to make goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien lose his composure.

Goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien will be the number 1 choice in goal for U.23 Vietnam?

Photo: VFF

In addition, Tran Trung Kien has recently made significant progress in his ability to catch high balls and control the penalty area. At HAGL Club, Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh always sets high requirements for his players in aerial situations, so Tran Trung Kien is familiar with situations like this.

Similar to goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, central defender Pham Ly Duc (1.82 m) will also have an official place in the competition. Ly Duc has a lot of experience playing in the V-League, and he is quite compatible with Trung Kien, as they both play for HAGL Club. This is an advantage for the defensive duo of HAGL Club.

Highlight U.23 Malaysia 0-2 U.23 Philippines: Shock on opening day

Under coach Kim Sang-sik, the Korean coach has a habit of using a formation with 3 central defenders. Therefore, 2 central defenders with very good physique of the Vietnam U.23 team, Le Van Ha and Nguyen Hieu Minh (both 1.84 m tall) will also be present. These are the players who played well at the international quadrangle tournament in China in March. Le Van Ha and Nguyen Hieu Minh were effective when facing players of U.23 Korea, China and Uzbekistan. At the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament, Le Van Ha, Nguyen Hieu Minh and Pham Ly Duc will be the 3 main central defenders of U.23 Vietnam.

Dinh Bac plays the role of center forward?

In midfield, Nguyen Thai Son and Nguyen Van Truong will play the central midfielder role. Thai Son will play a bit lower than captain Le Van Truong. Thai Son specializes in ball recovery and long-range defense, while Van Truong focuses on organizing attacks.

Nguyen Van Truong will lead the attack organization role?

Photo: VFF

Dinh Bac plays the role of center forward?

Photo: VFF

As for the forward line, after eliminating Vietnamese-American striker Alex Bui, it can be seen that coach Kim Sang-sik has placed his trust in striker Nguyen Dinh Bac. The player of the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) has a good physique (1.80 m), capable of fighting one-on-one with the opponent. It is highly likely that coach Kim Sang-sik will pull Dinh Bac into the center forward position, right above the striker Nguyen Quoc Viet.

After determining the "vertical axis" of the backbone, including goalkeeper, center back, central midfielder and center forward, coach Kim Sang-sik will connect other positions to this vertical axis, gradually completing the U.23 Vietnam team.

At the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament, Vietnam U23 is in Group B with Cambodia and Laos. We will play Laos U23 on July 19. Then, on July 22, we will meet Cambodia U23. Having passed the group stage, coach Kim Sang-sik's team will play the semi-finals on July 25. The final will take place on July 29.

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ live onFPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-da-tim-thay-truc-xuong-song-san-sang-chinh-phuc-dong-nam-a-185250712165903403.htm