2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers: Is Vietnam U23's ability limited to this?

Despite winning both opening matches of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers taking place at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho), the Vietnam U23 team still cannot reassure fans, even raising doubts about their abilities.

U23 Vietnam (left) needs to play better than the narrow victory over U23 Singapore - Photo: ANH DUC

Because against two opponents rated lower than them, U23 Bangladesh and Singapore, coach Kim Sang Sik's team both showed signs of being stuck in scoring despite creating many opportunities, especially in the narrow 1-0 win over U23 Singapore on the evening of September 6.

Bad finishing

After the two matches, coach Kim Sang Sik praised the goalkeepers of U23 Bangladesh and Singapore for their excellent performance. But that was only part of it. Because if they had finished better, the U23 Vietnam team would have scored nearly ten goals instead of just 3 goals like now.

Not counting the many missed clear scoring opportunities, the U23 Vietnam strikers hit the crossbar and post 5 times in the last two matches. Of which, Phi Hoang alone had 2 shots hit the crossbar and post in the victory over U23 Bangladesh.

Viktor Le also hit the crossbar and the post twice, but in two different matches. Thanh Nhan hit the crossbar in the win against U23 Singapore. An unbelievable statistic, but clearly reflects the finishing ability of the U23 Vietnam team.

Against two weaker opponents who actively defended, Coach Kim Sang Sik's players did a great job controlling the ball and creating chances. But in the final stages, hasty coordination and inaccurate finishing prevented the U23 Vietnam team from scoring many goals.

"U23 Vietnam had many dangerous situations, but the goalkeeper of U23 Singapore played excellently. We will continue to improve our finishing ability to take better advantage of opportunities in the upcoming matches," coach Kim Sang Sik had to admit.

Is coach Kim Sang Sik hiding a trick from U23 Vietnam? - Photo: TTO

Ability or "hiding cards"?

In fact, the victory over U23 Singapore (with an average age of only 20 years old) came from a moment of brilliance by substitute striker Le Van Thuan with a header in the 79th minute, instead of a convincing performance in terms of score of U23 Vietnam. And that is also the reason why public opinion has to react to coach Kim Sang Sik and his team.

"Objectively speaking, U23 Vietnam played boringly, too monotonously, slowly, and depended on a few individuals who liked to show off more than be effective. But we can't ask for more because these are the best players that our country's football has." "It was boring to watch.

But it's okay, because players at this age only have that much expertise so we can't ask for anything more." Those are just two of the many comments from fans after the victory over U23 Singapore.

So is it true that the U23 Vietnam team's ability is only that? Only coach Kim Sang Sik can answer. But looking at the performance of the U23 Vietnam team from the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in Indonesia in July to the first two matches of the current 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers, it is difficult to blame the public for thinking otherwise.

The coordination of U23 Vietnam mostly relies on individual efforts or set pieces to score goals instead of coming from systematic and cohesive coordination. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team holds the ball a lot, creates a lot of pressure but lacks innovation, making it easy for opponents to predict.

But who knows, maybe coach Kim Sang Sik is "hiding his cards" before entering the decisive match for the final round ticket with U23 Yemen in the last round on September 9. Because in the last two matches, the Korean coach did not put out the strongest lineup in the first half.

Only in the second half did he unleash his "trump cards" to finish the match. U23 Vietnam only needed to draw with U23 Yemen to win the top spot in Group C and a ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals because they had a better goal difference than their opponents.

But with the current expectations of fans, coach Kim Sang Sik's team needs to win U23 Yemen instead of a draw. It is not only to prove the true ability of U23 Vietnam, to help the players gain more confidence, but also a way for the whole team to perfect their playing style for the SEA Games 33 gold medal campaign at the end of this year and further to have good results in the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals.

"With the current quality of the squad and the tactics being built, I believe U23 Vietnam will win against U23 Yemen," Coach Kim Sang Sik confidently declared. Hopefully, Coach Kim Sang Sik and his team will "talk and do".

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NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vong-loai-u23-chau-a-2026-nang-luc-u23-viet-nam-chi-co-the-20250908102509955.htm