Will the U23 Vietnam players have the joy of victory over U23 Yemen? - Photo: NGOC LE
Having the same 6 points after two opening matches, U23 Vietnam is temporarily ranked above U23 Yemen due to a better goal difference (3/0 compared to 3/1).
Therefore, coach Kim Sang Sik's team only needs a draw to officially qualify for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals. But the issue is not just 1 or 3 points, fans expect a more convincing performance from the Vietnam U23 team.
The challenge is called U23 Yemen
With what they have shown, U23 Yemen has shown that they are not too formidable opponents. In the opening match, the Yemen players quickly took a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to two 11m kicks. However, they let U23 Singapore equalize 1-2 in the second half.
Most recently, U23 Yemen struggled to defeat U23 Bangladesh 1-0 thanks to a late goal in the 90+4 minute. Notably, coach Amin Al Suneini's team could only score when the opponent had only 10 men on the field in the 87th minute due to a red card.
However, U23 Yemen promises to create more difficulties for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team than U23 Bangladesh or Singapore. This is because the two previous opponents of U23 Vietnam only focused on defense. Because the West Asian team also wants to beat U23 Vietnam to officially win a ticket to the finals, it is likely that they will raise their squad to look for goals.
"U23 Vietnam is a very strong team. They play very fast and direct so they will cause us a lot of difficulties. However, the whole team will have certain preparations. Hopefully U23 Yemen will have a good result," said coach Amin Al Suneini.
U23 Yemen knows how to play offensively, so it will not be easy for the host U23 Vietnam to freely attack like the last two matches. Coach Amin Al Suneini has placed his confidence in scoring on the trio of strikers who just played for the Yemen team in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup in June.
Among them, Hamzah Mahross is a formidable striker who has played 11 matches for the national team, 6 of which were in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Therefore, the experience of this 21-year-old player forces the U23 Vietnam defense to play carefully.
Coach Kim Sang Sik aims to win 3 points against U23 Yemen - Photo: TTO
Waiting to see the real strength of U23 Vietnam
In the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers also at Viet Tri Stadium in September 2023, host U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Yemen 1-0 thanks to Bui Vi Hao's goal in the 84th minute. But in this rematch, nothing can be predicted, especially when coach Kim Sang Sik's current strikers are having many problems in finishing.
Experienced players for the Vietnam national team such as Dinh Bac and Van Khang also failed to finish well in many favorable scoring opportunities in the last two matches. Two expected strikers Viktor Le and Thanh Nhan also missed many clear scoring opportunities.
Fortunately, coach Kim Sang Sik's new players were able to shine. Ngoc My scored the opening goal in the win over U23 Bangladesh. Le Van Thuan was the hero with the only goal in the win over U23 Singapore.
Coach Kim Sang Sik has rotated 6 positions in the starting lineup in the last 2 matches. Except for center back Tuan Phong who started instead of Ly Duc in the match against U23 Singapore, the Korean coach only changed the personnel in the midfield and attack.
All these changes are aimed at helping the U23 Vietnam team improve their attacking and scoring abilities. However, Mr. Kim's harvest from these changes is not much.
So now coach Kim Sang Sik is forced to arrange the strongest squad of the U23 Vietnam team for the important match with U23 Yemen. The meaning of this is not only to win a ticket to the final round but also to prove his true ability to experts and fans.
With a Yemen U23 team that wants to score, not defending in large numbers, this will be a good opportunity for Vietnam U23 to launch an attack. Especially their very strong left wing with "passer" Phi Hoang for the strikers to score.
U23 Vietnam must show impressive attacking play and know how to score goals but also do not forget to defend, when U23 Yemen has quality players. This will definitely be a match where the U23 Vietnam defense will have to work harder instead of being leisurely like the last two matches.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vong-loai-u23-chau-a-2026-u23-viet-nam-uu-tien-viec-gianh-ve-20250909100119358.htm
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