U.23 Vietnam is confident before the big campaign

On October 15, the U.23 Vietnam team returned to Vietnam, concluding an important training session in the UAE with two friendly matches against U.23 Qatar - a football country 61 places higher than ours on the FIFA rankings.

When will coach Kim Sang-sik lead U.23 Vietnam?

Despite the two losses, interim coach Dinh Hong Vinh highly appreciated the spirit, effort and concentration of the entire team despite not having the 8 best players currently playing for the Vietnamese national team. It is expected that in November, U.23 Vietnam will regroup, led by interim coach Dinh Hong Vinh, dividing part of the force for the Vietnamese national team to join coach Kim Sang-sik as guests in Laos in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup. U.23 Vietnam will have 3 matches in the international friendly tournament in China during the FIFA Days in November with quality "blue troops", in addition to the host team, there are also Uzbekistan and Korea, who won the U.23 Asian Cup in 2018 and 2020. Thus, in October and November, U.23 Vietnam will have 5 matches with the top teams in the continent.

After that, Mr. Kim will personally train U.23 Vietnam to prepare to conquer the 3rd SEA Games men's football gold medal in history. This is an achievable goal if we look at how we convincingly won the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship with a perfect record in Indonesia. Experience from quality friendly matches promises to help coach Kim Sang-sik's students become more confident and effective. After returning from Thailand, U.23 Vietnam will stabilize the squad domestically, before going to Saudi Arabia to participate in the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship.

Young U.23 Vietnam star Thanh Nhan (right) plays for the Vietnam team in the match against Nepal at Thong Nhat Stadium on October 14.

Photo: Independence

VFF has a scientific training plan to help U.23 Vietnam have the opportunity to compete with top Asian teams. This brings the expectation that the players will gain important international competition experience. Another advantage is that 100% of U.23 Vietnam players are playing in the V-League, in which the main frame Van Khang, Dinh Bac, Hieu Minh, Nhat Minh, Trung Kien, Phi Hoang, Thanh Nhan... are often the main players in the club. The top tournament in Vietnam will be a favorable environment for young players to have the conditions to mature quickly.

In addition, coach Kim Sang-sik's push to get U.23 Vietnam players to play for the national team will also be an important step. The fact that Trung Kien, Hieu Minh, Thanh Nhan, Dinh Bac, and Van Khang will play against Nepal in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will be a great encouragement. At this time, Mr. Kim has the main frame for U.23 Vietnam, but still opens the door for new players to show themselves. The four-nation tournament in China will be the last important opportunity for players to compete for positions. After winning the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship, Mr. Kim suddenly made a series of changes and launched 3 different squads in the 2026 Asian U.23 qualifiers. That shows that the Korean coach always wants to promote competition between positions, in order to create a driving force for the team to always move forward.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-vung-niem-tin-truoc-chien-dich-lon-185251015222715724.htm