U23 Vietnam's opponent brings strong force to the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers

VHO - The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said that the Yemen U23 team - a direct competitor for a ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship with Vietnam U23 - has officially announced the list of 23 players participating in the qualifying round taking place in Viet Tri (Phu Tho).

To prepare for the qualifying round, U23 Yemen has undergone a thorough training process. The team is stationed in Marib City (Yemen), before going to Fujairah (UAE) to train and play friendly matches with a number of clubs in the country as well as in the UAE.

Hamza Mahrous (red shirt) is a notable striker of U23 Yemen

The results of these matches are not disclosed for professional confidentiality.

In the list of participants in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, U23 Yemen only has one player playing abroad, goalkeeper Muhammad Ramadan Shuey Jumaan (currently playing in Saudi Arabia). The remaining 22 players are all playing for domestic clubs.

Notably, all three strikers registered by the West Asian team are national team players.

They are Abdulaziz Masnoum, Qassem Al-Sharafi and Hamza Mahrous - the faces who just played for the Yemen national team in the FIFA Days series in June 2025 against Bhutan and Lebanon in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Among them, Hamza Mahrous is considered outstanding at only 19 years old but is already the third choice in the national team's attack.

Yemeni media also reported that coach Al Suneini had expressed his desire to call up 17-year-old striker Adel Abbas Qasem - a young talent considered to have great potential - but was not approved because this player had to concentrate with the Yemen U20 team to participate in the 2025 West Asian U20 tournament.

According to plan, U23 Yemen will travel from Dubai and arrive in Hanoi in the early afternoon of August 31, then continue their journey to Viet Tri.

In the group, the West Asian team will meet U23 Singapore (3.9), U23 Bangladesh (6.9) and U23 Vietnam (9.9).

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/doi-thu-cua-u23-viet-nam-mang-luc-luong-manh-du-vong-loai-u23-chau-a-2026-164826.html