U.23 Vietnam plays in Asian tournament at the same time as… going to bed in Vietnam: How to cope?

U.23 Vietnam will play 3 matches at very different times, even at midnight Vietnam time. But the football team itself has experience in preparation.

Quoc Viet has experience playing for U.23 Vietnam in Qatar.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

U.23 Vietnam plays at midnight

The draw at the ceremony on October 2 put U.23 Vietnam in the same group A with host team Saudi Arabia, Jordan and newcomer Kyrgyzstan in the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship.

According to the schedule set by the tournament's organizers, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will play 3 group stage matches with gradually delayed times, respectively the opening match against Jordan at 6:30 p.m. Vietnam on January 6 (2:30 p.m. local time), Kyrgyzstan on January 9 (9:00 p.m. Vietnam, 5:00 p.m. local time) and Saudi Arabia on January 12 (11:30 p.m. Vietnam, 7:30 p.m. local time).

Thus, Vietnamese fans will have the opportunity to cheer for U.23 Vietnam at 3 different time frames, in which the second match against Kyrgyzstan will end at nearly midnight while the last match against the host team Saudi Arabia will be spread over the next day.

U.23 Vietnam will be best prepared for the 2026 U.23 Asian Cup

Photo: Minh Tu

This special match schedule will bring convenience because it takes place after rush hour, but also a bit of a challenge because the final match will end at nearly 2am Vietnam time on January 13.

Valuable experience

U.23 Vietnam team must also proactively prepare scientific scenarios and design training sessions according to appropriate schedules so that the players can reach their best performance.

However, the good news is that the VFF logistics department and the doctors and assistants are all experienced in real combat, including those who had similar experiences at the 2024 U.23 Asian Cup in Qatar, which has a similar time zone to Saudi Arabia.

U.23 Vietnam aims to at least pass the group stage

Photo: Minh Tu

In addition, the U.23 Vietnam team also has many players who have experience competing in the 2024 U.23 Asian Cup such as Ho Van Cuong, Nguyen Thai Son, Nguyen Duc Phu, Nguyen Van Truong, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Quoc Viet, and Nguyen Dinh Bac.

The experience of adapting to weather conditions, climate, cuisine and even competition time zones of these "predecessors" will be very important, helping individuals participating in a major official tournament for the first time such as Ngoc My, Trung Kien, Van Thuan, Le Viktor... quickly adapt and catch up with the locality.

In particular, the players will have great motivation from the Vietnamese fans living, studying and working in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries, along with millions of hearts beating together from their homeland Vietnam.

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

 

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-ra-san-thi-dau-chau-a-trung-gio-di-ngu-o-viet-nam-ung-pho-cach-nao-185251005103000408.htm