Waiting for the explosive performance of U.23 Vietnam

The Vietnam U.23 team had a good start in the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers with a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh U.23, but that is not the true strength of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team.

" TRANSFORMATION"

The 2-0 score of U.23 Vietnam against U.23 Bangladesh could have been more impressive if goalkeeper Mehdi Srabon had not made some miraculous saves, plus the ball hit the crossbar and goalpost three times. Coach Kim Sang-sik once again surprised everyone by only sending captain Van Khang onto the field in the second half, giving way to Ngoc My for the first time in the starting lineup. This is not surprising because since the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian tournament, U.23 Vietnam has never fielded the same starting lineup. The Vietnamese team at the 2024 AFF Cup has also been constantly changing like that, surprising opponents with unexpected new names, and especially winning all the time.

The U.23 Vietnam team (22) will rotate the attack line to prepare for the decisive match with U.23 Yemen.

Photo: Minh Tu

It is easy to see that U.23 Vietnam played without a traditional striker when Dinh Bac played the highest, often moving wide to attract people. With the new formation, U.23 Vietnam started quite slowly against the aggressive defense of U.23 Bangladesh. U.23 Vietnam's wing passes were still ineffective, when the coordination of cutting down the wing and then returning the ball was not very accurate, making it impossible to exploit the effectiveness of the high crosses inside. In this half, although playing quite slowly, U.23 Vietnam still had a beautiful goal scored by Ngoc My after a pass from Dinh Bac.

Bangladesh press points out the reason why the home team lost to U.23 Vietnam

In the second half, when he understood the opponent's playing style, Mr. Kim sent Van Khang, Quoc Viet and Le Viktor onto the field, forcing U.23 Bangladesh to strain to defend against continuous attacks.

Quoc Viet (9) "shares the fire" with Dinh Bac on the attack line

Commentator Vu Quang Huy commented: "Changing the starting lineup is a familiar style of coach Kim Sang-sik. This helps U.23 Vietnam to proactively rotate the force, gain experience and adjust through each match. In football, the first match will always be very difficult to play, so U.23 Vietnam is still quite cautious, but in fact, many people think that Mr. Kim can shuffle the force more. Personally, I think Mr. Kim can be satisfied with the performance of his students, when the new and old factors all performed well, the attacking intention is quite coherent. This way of using people helps the U.23 Vietnam team create a depth of force, have many choices, and help the positions always be ready for the next steps."

REVEAL TRUE STRENGTH

The opening goal of U.23 Vietnam in the 15th minute was exactly what coach Kim Sang-sik wanted to see often, when Dinh Bac retreated to pull the center back, launching an assist for Ngoc My to exploit the space to score. The second goal when Ly Duc headed tactically for Le Viktor to finish close to the goal was the U.23 Vietnam's signature move under Mr. Kim. The fact that Ngoc My and Le Viktor both scored the first goal for U.23 Vietnam can be considered a plus for Mr. Kim's way of using people. The two goals showed a team that is moving towards diversity in attack, playing football based on the mobility of the team, not completely dependent on any individual. In fact, that way of playing was demonstrated through the championship of the U.23 Southeast Asia 2025, where Dinh Bac and center back Hieu Minh were the team's top scorers with 2 goals alongside Van Khang, Ly Duc, Xuan Bac, and Cong Phuong taking turns scoring.

U.23 Vietnam is running quite smoothly.

Ahead of U.23 Vietnam will be increasingly stronger opponents, when on September 6 they will meet U.23 Singapore and on September 9 they will compete with U.23 Yemen for the top spot in Group C. Coach Kim Sang-sik will certainly continue to make appropriate adjustments (especially in the attack) so that U.23 Vietnam can play more aggressively and score more goals. Mr. Vu Quang Huy said: "If there is anything that needs to be improved, in my opinion, it is that the players need to finish better. We create too many opportunities, we should not miss them like that. In the U.23 Vietnam squad at the moment, Dinh Bac is still the best name, capable of putting constant pressure on the opponent's goal so that the remaining positions can stir up space to score. In the first match, we were a bit cautious, but in the following matches, I believe that the "in-form" attack will play more explosively.

The advantage of U.23 Vietnam is that they will meet increasingly stronger opponents. Coach Kim Sang-sik will rotate the attack more in the match against U.23 Singapore, including the final match against U.23 Yemen. The good thing about the Korean coach is knowing how to use the right people at the right time. We clearly saw U.23 Vietnam accelerate more strongly, completely dominate and create many opportunities in the second half against U.23 Bangladesh. Personally, I believe U.23 Vietnam is still the strongest opponent in Group C and coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will aim for 3 wins in a row."

Watch live and complete Group C - 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cho-man-trinh-dien-bung-no-cua-u23-viet-nam-185250904233202901.htm