U23 Vietnam and its mission at SEA Games 33

The Vietnam U23 team has finished training in the UAE and returned home to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Finals.

The training trip of U23 Vietnam in UAE will be highlighted by two international friendly matches with U23 Qatar, taking place on October 9 and 13. As Acting Head Coach Dinh Hong Vinh stated before the team left: “Meeting high-level opponents like U23 Qatar is very useful. These two matches will help the coaching staff better assess potential, adaptability and identify more quality players to report to coach Kim Sang-sik, thereby preparing well for the next training sessions.”

Vietnam U23 players in a friendly match with Qatar U23. Photo: VFF

In the first friendly match with U23 Qatar, U23 Vietnam lost 0-1. In the second friendly match, U23 Vietnam lost 2-3. Although they did not win, U23 Vietnam still showed a positive fighting spirit, discipline and the ability to quickly adapt to tactical requirements.

The positive point is that U23 Vietnam tested the maximum number of personnel in the rematch with U23 Qatar. The coaching staff of U23 Vietnam gave opportunities to young players who had not or rarely played in the previous match. The starting lineup included 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 and Van Thuan.

Entering the second half, coach Dinh Hong Vinh continued to create opportunities for players to enter the field with a series of changes such as Bao Long, Van Ha, Ly Duc, Van Truong, Quoc Cuong, Anh Quan, Quoc Viet, Le Viktor.

On October 14, the Vietnam U23 team will return home, concluding a very effective and useful training trip. In particular, the rotation of the entire squad will help the coaching staff have an important assessment of each player's ability in the process of preparing for the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

After the U23 Vietnam team finished training, the Vietnam team also completed two matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in October. In this training session, coach Kim Sang-sik called up eight U23 players to the squad. In the two matches against Nepal, Mr. Kim gave young players a chance. This gave young players confidence when joining the national team. In addition, training alongside experienced players in recent times has also helped young players accumulate more expertise.

Striker Nguyen Tien Linh spoke before the return match against Nepal: “In recent training sessions, the young players showed their desire and determination. Many young players were called up to the national team this time. You were able to play in the last match and showed great determination. There will be many matches in the future, matches like the one with Nepal will be an experience for you to grow up.

I want to tell you guys to go out there and enjoy yourself and give your all for the national team. After the matches with the national team, you will gain more experience, especially at the end of the year, the SEA Games is an important tournament.

You guys should go out on the field and play with more than 100% of your strength, enjoy the atmosphere. The coach has given them the opportunity, they will do well with what the coach and coaching staff have expected." The immediate task of U23 Vietnam is to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games. This is a tournament in which we are determined to win the gold medal. Mr. Kim Sang-sik and the coaching staff will have 1 month to prepare as well as finalize the official force for this arena. After the recent training and testing sessions, the framework of U23 Vietnam has also begun to take shape.

VFF promotes cooperation with FIFA

On October 14, in Hanoi, under the chairmanship of Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration, the third session of the 16th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Sports (SOMS 16) ended successfully, focusing on promoting honest, transparent and sustainable sports development.

A report from FIFA said that the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between ASEAN and FIFA (since 2019) will expire in October 2025 and is currently being negotiated for extension with many new contents.

The aim is to exploit football as a tool for education , social cohesion and comprehensive sports development. Since 2019, initiatives such as “Football for Schools”, technical support through the FIFA Forward program... have been widely implemented in the ASEAN region.

At the conference, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Ha - Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Football Federation shared details about the ASEAN - FIFA cooperation relationship. Ms. Ha said that Vietnam is very active in cooperation projects, especially receiving support from FIFA in developing grassroots football - the foundation for professional football.

According to Ms. Ha, Vietnam has been supported with facilities such as FIFA-standard artificial turf fields, injury recovery systems, GPS devices to track athletes, LED lighting systems, team buses and VAR technology for the V.League.

During the 2025-2027 period, Vietnam will participate in programs such as the FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS), FIFA Women's Football Development Programme and FIFA Arena to enhance its position in the ASEAN football ecosystem.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/van-hoa/u23-viet-nam-va-nhiem-vu-tai-sea-games-33-i784644/