U23 Vietnam has a good chance of advancing to the next round of the Asian tournament.

According to the draw results of the U23 Asian Cup, U23 Vietnam is in the same group with U23 Saudi Arabia, U23 Jordan and U23 Kyrgyzstan. Of course, it is difficult to expect an easy group in the Asian Cup, but overall, this is an acceptable group for coach Kim Sang Sik's team.

U23 Việt Nam sáng cửa giành vé đi tiếp ở giải châu Á - 1 — U23 Vietnam has a great chance to pass the group stage of the U23 Asian tournament (Photo: Minh Quan).

Among the opponents of U23 Vietnam, the host U23 Saudi Arabia is theoretically the strongest team. This is a strong football team in Asia. They reached the finals in two tournaments in 2020 and 2022. Of which, U23 Saudi Arabia won the championship in 2022.

In the past, U23 Vietnam has faced U23 Saudi Arabia 5 times. We lost 4 matches against this opponent. Therefore, the West Asian team is truly a match beyond the reach of coach Kim Sang Sik and his team.

However, the two remaining opponents, U23 Jordan and U23 Kyrgyzstan, are only on par with U23 Vietnam. Although Jordanian football is developing rapidly, winning the runner-up position in the 2023 Asian Cup and qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, U23 Jordan is playing quite mediocrely.

In the two most recent tournaments in 2022 and 2024, U23 Jordan both stopped in the group stage. Most recently, in the 2024 tournament, U23 Jordan ranked bottom of the group when facing U23 Qatar, U23 Indonesia, U23 Australia. In which, U23 Jordan lost 1-4 to U23 Indonesia.

At the 2022 AFC U23 Championship, U23 Jordan only ranked 4th in a group consisting of U23 Australia, U23 Iraq, U23 Kuwait. Remember, in both of these tournaments, U23 Vietnam qualified for the quarter-finals.

U23 Việt Nam sáng cửa giành vé đi tiếp ở giải châu Á - 2 — U23 Jordan may not be as strong as expected (Photo: AFC).

Similarly, U23 Kyrgyzstan is participating in the U23 Asian tournament for the first time in history. They are an unknown quantity in this group but can also reveal their lack of experience in competition.

U23 Vietnam is playing very well under coach Kim Sang Sik with a series of 7 consecutive wins. In general, the U23 Vietnam team with names like Khuat Van Khang, Van Truong, Thai Son, Quoc Viet, Dinh Bac... have played together from many youth levels. Coach Kim Sang Sik has only worked with U23 Vietnam for a short time but he understands his students so he can grasp easily.

The match schedule favors U23 Vietnam as we will face U23 Jordan (January 6, 2026), U23 Kyrgyzstan (January 9) and U23 Saudi Arabia (January 12). Avoiding early clashes with the home team will help U23 Vietnam avoid pressure and make calculations. With a tradition of good performance in the U23 Asian tournament, U23 Vietnam is ready to move forward.