Coach Kim Sang-sik calls Vietnamese-American midfielder Tran Thanh Trung to join U.23 Vietnam

Overseas Vietnamese midfielder Tran Thanh Trung is on the list of Vietnam U.23 team to prepare for the 2026 AFC U.23 qualifiers.

Tran Thanh Trung steps up to U.23 Vietnam

According to Ninh Binh Club, Tran Thanh Trung has been called up to the Vietnam U.23 team by coach Kim Sang-sik.

The core squad of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 championship with factors such as goalkeeper Trung Kien, Van Binh, defenders Hieu Minh, Anh Quan, Van Ha, Ly Duc, Nhat Minh, midfielders Xuan Truong, Xuan Bac, Cong Phuong, Phi Hoang, Van Thuan, Le Viktor, or strikers Quoc Viet, Dinh Bac, Ngoc My... are all named.

Ninh Binh team congratulates Tran Thanh Trung

Photo: Club

However, the most notable face in this training session is Vietnamese-American midfielder Tran Thanh Trung. The player born in 2005 has returned to Vietnam to play for Ninh Binh in the V-League. He is considered an ideal addition to the U.23 Vietnam midfield, in the context that coach Kim Sang-sik needs more options besides players who have proven themselves such as Van Truong, Xuan Bac or Thai Son.

Tran Thanh Trung is only 20 years old, but has played 62 matches for Slavia Sofia, the team playing in the highest league of Bulgaria. Tran Thanh Trung also played for Bulgaria U.17 in 2021 - 2022, then was promoted to Bulgaria U.19 in 2022, when he was not yet 17 years old. In early 2023, at the age of 18, he played for Bulgaria U.21.

Tran Thanh Trung is the most sought-after young player in the land of roses, and is also the young overseas Vietnamese player with the most impressive resume playing in the V-League.

With a valuation of 400,000 euros (about 13 billion VND) according to Transfermarkt , Tran Thanh Trung is a solution for the present and the future. In the farewell announcement of Thanh Trung, Slavia Sofia also clearly stated that the 20-year-old player returned to Vietnam to play for Ninh Binh and waited to play for the Vietnamese youth team.

Thanh Trung (right) and Thai Son will create an energetic midfield for U.23 Vietnam.

PHOTO: NINH BINH FC

U.23 Vietnam will be a stepping stone for Tran Thanh Trung to prove himself to coach Kim Sang-sik, thereby striving to advance to higher levels of the national team in the future.

In addition, U.23 Vietnam also welcomes the return of striker Thanh Nhan. The striker wearing the PVF-CAND shirt missed the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian tournament due to injury. Thanh Nhan used to play for the Vietnam national team and will bring dynamism and tenacity to the U.23 attack line.

Determined to qualify

In the 2026 AFC U.23 qualifiers, Vietnam U.23 is in Group C with opponents Yemen U.23, Singapore U.23 and Bangladesh U.23.

U.23 Vietnam will open the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship qualifying round with a match against U.23 Bangladesh at 7:00 p.m. on September 3. In the second match, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will meet U.23 Singapore at 7:00 p.m. on September 6. In the final match, U.23 Vietnam will meet U.23 Yemen at 7:00 p.m. on September 9. The group winner will directly qualify for the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship finals, while the runner-up must be in the best group to qualify.

All 6 matches in Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers took place at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ). This is the "sacred land" of Vietnamese football, having witnessed the success of many levels of the team. Most recently, at Viet Tri Stadium, the Vietnamese team won all 4 matches at the 2024 AFF Cup, including 2 group stage matches against Indonesia (1-0) and Myanmar (5-0), along with the second leg of the semi-final against Singapore (3-1) and the first leg of the final against Thailand (2-1).

In the 2024 AFC U.23 qualifiers, Vietnam U.23 was also in the same group, and had good results against Yemen U.23 (1-0) and Singapore U.23 (2-2) to get a ticket to continue.

The goal of U.23 Vietnam is to continue to win tickets to the final round of the 2026 U.23 Asia. From 2016 to now, U.23 Vietnam has continuously won tickets to the final round. The best achievement the team has ever achieved is the runner-up position in 2018, and 2 times reaching the quarter-finals (2022 and 2024).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-goi-tien-ve-viet-kieu-tran-thanh-trung-len-u23-viet-nam-185250825171248711.htm