Overcoming injury, Thanh Nhan shines

Thanh Nhan's "super product" helped U23 Vietnam convincingly defeat U23 Yemen and he was voted the best player of the match.

In the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, striker Thanh Nhan, born in 2003, shone, scoring the decisive goal to help Vietnam defeat Yemen to win a ticket to the Final Round of the tournament as the top team in Group C.

The goal relieves pressure

Nguyen Thanh Nhan is a mainstay of PVF-CAND Club, having missed many international tournaments due to injury. Before the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, Thanh Nhan was expected to be a key player in the U23 Vietnam attack, but had to leave early due to a left ankle ligament injury during a training session with the team.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan (22) is a potential striker of U23 Vietnam (Photo: THAO HOANG)

This is not the first time the young striker has missed the opportunity to contribute to the national team. Also due to an unexpected injury, Thanh Nhan had to miss the 2023 Asian Cup Finals, could not compete in the 32nd SEA Games bronze medal match and also lost his place in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship Finals.

Before joining the U23 Vietnam squad for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, the Tay Ninh -born player had just recovered from an injury and was only a backup option in attack. In the "final" match against U23 Yemen on September 9, Thanh Nhan came off the bench and quickly shone.

In the 70th minute, when his teammates were gradually running out of energy and the attack was deadlocked against the solid defense of U23 Yemen, Thanh Nhan passed the ball well with Van Thuan on the right wing and fired a tricky shot that put the ball into the Yemen net.

"After missing the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship due to injury, I was very happy and pleased to score for the Vietnam U23 team in the 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers. This goal also helped me relieve pressure and give me more motivation to strive harder in the national team jersey" - Thanh Nhan expressed.

Effective "goal hunting" skills

Nguyen Thanh Nhan started his football career from youth tournaments in Tay Ninh. In 2019, Thanh Nhan made an impression at the National U17 Tournament, and in 2020, he was invited by coach Philippe Troussier to join the PVF Center.

Here, Thanh Nhan scored 5 goals, helping PVF win the 2020 National U17 Championship, twice consecutively win the National U19 Championship (2020, 2021), and won the title of Best Player of the 2021 National U19 Tournament with 7 goals.

In 2022, Thanh Nhan debuted for Pho Hien's first team in the National First Division, scoring 10 goals in 20 matches and becoming the tournament's top scorer. In the 2023 First Division season, despite having to play injured, he still scored 10 goals, continuing to win the title of Top Scorer, and helping PVF-CAND win the runner-up position. In addition, Thanh Nhan's effective "goal-scoring" skills also contributed to bringing the home team to the semi-finals of the 2023 National Cup for the first time.

Thanh Nhan played for the Vietnam U20 team in the 2023 U20 Asian Cup, and won a bronze medal with the national U22 team at the 2023 SEA Games. At the highest level of the national team, the player from PVF-CAND made his debut for the Vietnamese team when competing against Iraq in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. He was called up by coach Troussier to prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup but had to withdraw due to injury.

"Trick" of rotating players

By defeating U23 Yemen in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, Vietnam football has participated in the AFC U23 Championship for the 6th consecutive time, since the tournament was first held under this name in 2016. In the history of participation, the most impressive achievement of U23 Vietnam was the runner-up position in Changzhou (China) in 2018, under the leadership of coach Park Hang-seo.

Vietnam U23 had a smooth start to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, with a 2-0 win over Bangladesh U23. They then beat Singapore U23 1-0, before ending their journey with the only goal against Yemen U23. All three matches took place at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ), where coach Kim Sang-sik's team showed a diverse playing style, rotating the squad appropriately and adapting tactics quickly.

With 9 absolute points and a clean sheet, U23 Vietnam showed a stable performance at the youth level, continuing to affirm its leading position in the region, extending its impressive streak of achievements in the continental arena. Coach Kim showed his strategic talent and wisdom in using human resources to suit each development on the field.

Continuously rotating players and spreading out the squad also helps the team limit injuries and give them enough time to recover to continue playing at a high intensity.

The sharp vision of the game also helps the Korean strategist make timely adjustments and changes in tactics, bringing positive results. These tactical factors help U23 Vietnam control the game and find goals at important moments of the match.

"Since 2016, U23 Vietnam has never been absent from the AFC U23 Championship. The tournament taking place in Saudi Arabia will be an opportunity for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team to continue to create surprises, just like their seniors did in 2018.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/vuot-chan-thuong-thanh-nhan-toa-sang-196250910214326902.htm