Coach Kim Sang-sik calls up players from Europe, and prepares with U23 Vietnam to participate in the Southeast Asian tournament

TPO - Coach Kim Sang Sik has just announced a list of 35 players to prepare for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament, which will take place in Indonesia next month.

In this list, familiar names who have played for Vietnam's youth team for many years such as Thai Son, Xuan Tien, Van Khang, Van Truong, Van Cuong, Van Binh and Dinh Bac all appear. Dinh Bac's return is very important for the team because he is one of the differentiating options of coach Kim Sang Sik.

The Hanoi Police striker has recovered from an injury after two months on the sidelines, which caused him to miss the friendly tournament in China in March. But this time, Dinh Bac will have to compete for a position with Long Vu, Ngoc My, Quoc Viet and Bui Alex.

This player is playing in Europe for the Bohemians youth team of the Czech Republic. He plays quite similar to Dinh Bac. Bui Alex can play well on both wings thanks to his technique and strength. He is also a highlight in this list because Bui Alex is the only player playing in Europe to play for the U23 Vietnam team to prepare for the regional tournament. But Bui Alex is the second overseas Vietnamese player after Viktor Le.

The midfielder currently playing for Ha Tinh has risen strongly in the past season, both at club and national level. With him, the midfield of U23 Vietnam will be significantly “upgraded”. Viktor Le’s performance in China last March is proof.

Overall, this list brings together the best young players of Vietnamese football. Some cases are injured and cannot be called up to the national team. However, the team has a worthy replacement plan with the rise of Ngoc My, Ly Duc or Van Thuan.

At the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament, Vietnam is in a very easy group, with only 2 "blue teams": Laos and Cambodia. There are 3 groups, each group only takes the leading team to continue, the remaining spot is the best second team.

Dang Lai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-trieu-tap-cau-thu-tu-chau-au-cung-u23-viet-nam-chuan-bi-du-giai-dong-nam-a-post1753059.tpo