U.23 Vietnam enters the test of fire, 2 young players are specially honored

The 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship (from July 15 to 31) is considered a key preparation step for two important campaigns this year: the 2026 Asian U.23 qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games. Coach Kim Sang-sik and the players are facing great pressure.

Get motivated

On the first day of the U.23 Vietnam team's training session, coach Kim Sang-sik shared: "U.23 Vietnam has won the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship twice. Winning consecutive titles is something to be proud of, but instead of putting too much pressure on ourselves, we want to focus on trying our best in each match. I always encourage the players to see this tournament as an opportunity to grow and develop, rather than just aiming for achievements." Mr. Kim clearly understands how great the pressure is on U.23 Vietnam in the task of completing a hat-trick of Southeast Asian championships, so he quickly solved the psychological problem for his students.

The competitive pressure in the U.23 Vietnam team is very great.

PHOTO: VFF

Most of the U.23 Vietnam players have a lot of experience competing in domestic and international tournaments. Surely the young players do not want to become involuntary spectators, so they will be eager to show themselves to win the trust of coach Kim. With up to 35 players called up before the U.23 Southeast Asia campaign, of course the competitive pressure will be huge, especially when there are many good players playing in the same position. And when the place to participate in the U.23 Southeast Asia is limited to 23 players, it means that up to 12 people will be eliminated.

Not only solving psychological problems for U.23 Vietnam

Coach Kim Sang-sik's statement not only helps his students relieve some of the psychological burden, but it is also the right approach. To achieve good results in major tournaments, U.23 Vietnam needs to have the strongest squad, depth of force, understanding of how to operate tactics and the courage to compete at the international level.

The 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship will be an ideal environment to evaluate that. Mr. Kim will have more practical data on the adaptation, performance and ability to withstand pressure of his students in real combat. Experiments on tactics and personnel, if only applied in training sessions or friendly matches, will not fully reflect the players' abilities as in an official tournament. In other words, the upcoming tournament in Indonesia is not simply a destination, but the beginning of a larger journey. And if making good use of this playground, U.23 Vietnam can complete the remaining two tasks in 2025: winning a ticket to the 2026 Asian U.23 Finals and winning the 33rd SEA Games gold medal.

Two Vietnamese U.23 players received special honors

Today, July 1, VPF held the award ceremony for the 2024 - 2025 season. Two young players of U.23 Vietnam were honored in two important categories. In which, Le Van Thuan (Thanh Hoa) is the Best Young Player of V-League, and Nguyen Hieu Minh (PVF-CAND) is the Best Young Player of the First Division. It is known that foreign player Alan Grafite ( Hanoi Police Club) is a strong candidate for the Best Player of V-League category, and Hoang Duc is the Best Player of the First Division.

Chi Dat

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-buoc-vao-cuoc-thu-lua-2-nhan-to-tre-duoc-vinh-danh-dac-biet-185250630163746081.htm