Thanh Nhan hopes to solve her 'bad luck' and is determined to help U.23 Vietnam win the Asian qualifiers.

Having his name back on the list of the Vietnam U.23 team preparing to play in the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers, striker Thanh Nhan is determined to win to reverse his long-standing 'bad luck'.

Thanh Nhan (red) and Nam Hai (yellow) in the opening match of V-League PVF-CAND won SLNA 2-1

Photo: Minh Tu

Thanh Nhan returns

Coach Kim Sang-sik has just announced the list of the Vietnam U.23 team to prepare for the qualifying round of the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship, scheduled to take place from September 3 to September 9 at Viet Tri Stadium. Notably, Nguyen Thanh Nhan will return.

Previously, Thanh Nhan was coach Kim Sang-sik's first choice as a partner with Dinh Bac on the attack line of the Vietnam U.23 team, in a 3-5-2 formation to prepare for the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament.

The striker born in 2003 of PVF-CAND Club has prepared very carefully, reaching the peak of his form to match his aspiration to help the U.23 Vietnam team set a "unique" record of 3 consecutive championships in the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament.

Thanh Nhan was given the number 10 shirt by coach Troussier to play in the 2024 U.23 Asian qualifiers.

Photo: Minh Tu

But man proposes, God disposes. An unexpected ankle injury on July 16, just a few days before the final roster, prevented him from flying to Indonesia with his teammates. He had to hold back his emotions and support coach Kim Sang-sik and his team from his hometown of Tay Ninh with a tightly bandaged ankle.

Determined to defeat bad luck

This is not the first time Thanh Nhan has been unlucky, suffering injuries close to important moments that forced him to become a spectator early. Under coach Philippe Troussier, he had to miss the 2023 Asian Cup, the 32nd SEA Games bronze medal match and most recently the 2024 AFC U23 Championship.

But this time, hopefully things will be different, as Thanh Nhan is in good shape and is on the rise to join PVF-CAND in their first V-League appearance. From being a substitute in the opening match, he took Van Trang's starting spot and started in the match against Hai Phong Club.

Thanh Nhan's return will strengthen the attacking firepower of the Vietnam U.23 team.

Photo: Minh Tu

It is expected that in the attack line of the U.23 Vietnam team, Thanh Nhan will compete with Dinh Bac, Ngoc My, Cong Phuong and "King of the Youth Tournament" Quoc Viet for 2 starting positions in 3 matches against U.23 Bangladesh (September 3), U.23 Singapore (September 6) and U.23 Yemen (September 9).

It is expected that the Vietnam U.23 team will gather on August 29 at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, before being directly led by coach Kim Sang-sik, moving to Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho province to prepare for the U.23 Asian qualifiers.

This is where Thanh Nhan played very well in the U.23 Asian qualifiers 2 years ago. Viet Tri Stadium itself is also considered a lucky place when the U.23 Vietnam team defeated U.23 Yemen (1-0), U.23 Guam (6-0) and tied U.23 Singapore (2-2) to win the top spot in the 2024 U.23 Asian qualifiers.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thanh-nhan-mong-giai-van-den-quyet-cung-u23-viet-nam-thang-vong-loai-chau-a-185250825193451468.htm