U23 Vietnam played resiliently

Through two friendly matches with the U23 Qatar team, young Vietnamese players have had access to the developed football scene in Asia, accumulated international competition experience and improved their professional level.

Never give up

During the training trip in the UAE to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games as well as the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals, the Vietnam U23 team will compete with Qatar U23 on October 9 and 13 at 321Sports Stadium (Abu Dhabi).

In the first encounter for most of the match, U23 Vietnam controlled the game better, launched a "bright" attack but had to accept a 0-1 defeat. This defeat helped the U23 Vietnam coaching staff evaluate the ability to approach and face difficult challenges of each player, and at the same time see the cause of the failure coming from ineffective finishing and an unstable high ball defense system.

In the rematch, U23 Vietnam took the opportunity to test new elements such as: goalkeeper Nguyen Tan; defenders Quang Kiet, Tuan Phong, Nam Hai; midfielders Minh Phuc, Thanh Chung, Thai Son, Thanh Dat and the attack line including Long Vu, Le Phat, Van Thuan. Overwhelmed by the attacking ability of Qatar, the "reserve" squad of U23 Vietnam quickly conceded 2 goals within just 20 minutes of play. However, the enthusiasm of the young players along with the encouragement from the coaching staff helped U23 Vietnam quickly regain their spirit, tighten the squad and play well.

U23 Việt Nam thi đấu kiên cường - Ảnh 1. — Vietnam U23 team performed well during their training trip in UAE. Photo: VFF

Unlike Qatar's two goals from set pieces, U23 Vietnam's attacking tactics showed diversity and method. Van Thuan's goal originated from his signature wing combination. Quoc Viet's equalizer to tie the score at 2-2 was a "masterpiece" from long range that the Qatar U23 goalkeeper could not stop.

After being led 2-3 by their opponents, coach Dinh Hong Vinh's players still showed a resilient fighting spirit and refused to give up. Although they could not maintain the draw, the U23 Vietnam players showed a positive fighting spirit, discipline and the ability to quickly adapt to tactical requirements.

Towards SEA Games 33

The U23 Vietnam team in this training trip in the UAE is missing many key players, as up to 8 players have been promoted to the Vietnam team to participate in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Two other unfortunate absences due to injury are young players Xuan Tien and Ngoc My. This pair of players are considered to be talented and can wear the national team jersey in the future.

Although the results were not as expected, the U23 Vietnam coaching staff was still optimistic that they had completed the goal of the tour in the UAE. The potential of many young players was discovered through two friendly matches with high professional quality.

Experts also see the positive points of the current U23 Vietnam team as many players have tall physiques, even professional skills, modern tactical thinking... According to them, U23 Vietnam is not inferior to young football teams in the West Asia region.

According to coach Dinh Hong Vinh, U23 Vietnam is still on track towards the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals. "The whole team will have periods of concentration to test and perfect the force. The players all meet the tactical tactics, show a resilient fighting spirit, in line with the requirements set by the coaching staff, and their professional level is also gradually improving" - he commented.

Football expert Doan Minh Xuong believes that the group of young players quickly integrated and improved when joining the Vietnam U23 team thanks to frequent contact and competition in the V-League. He analyzed: "Competing in the most prestigious professional playground in the country not only helps them demonstrate their abilities but also increases their confidence, maturity and experience when wearing the national team shirt. V-League clubs need to boldly create competition opportunities for young talents, invest in training the next generation, only then can they produce good players for the country's football."