U23 Vietnam begins 2026 AFC U23 qualifying campaign

The Vietnam U23 team under the leadership of coach Kim Sang-sik has just won the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. After that title, Mr. Kim and the coaching staff have a framework of players with potential to prepare for big goals as well as the next generation for the national team.

After winning the title at the U23 Southeast Asian tournament, Mr. Kim Sang-sik said: “In the immediate future, I will continue to focus on finding and giving opportunities to new faces in the Vietnam U23 team. Through that, I will build a solid foundation for future team levels.”

As the 2025-2026 V.League and First Division seasons are about to kick off, this will be an important stage for me to directly monitor, evaluate and discover more potential factors. In terms of expertise, my coaching staff and I will continue to perfect the training system, build new training programs and tactics to help the team develop more comprehensively."

6-3.jpg -0 — U23 Vietnam aims for the next goal in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers. Photo: VFF.

Coach Kim Sang-sik also commented on the players: “In addition to the faces I have worked with at the national team level such as Van Khang, Dinh Bac, Van Truong or Trung Kien, this time I also have the opportunity to work with many new players such as Nhat Minh, Hieu Minh, Xuan Bac, Viktor Le, Cong Phuong, Anh Quan... All of them show very good ability and long-term development potential.

Cong Phuong is one of the youngest players in the team, 2-3 years younger than his teammates. However, he has great potential and has shown good tactical ability, from breaking through in the penalty area, the ability to keep the ball and his dynamic movement. It is these strengths that make me believe that Cong Phuong will play well in the two most important matches: the semi-finals and the final. I understand that the pressure of those matches is very high for a young player, but he has completed the assigned task well.

I always believe that young players can develop in a short period of time if they play regularly. There are many examples in Korea. Young names are constantly reaching out to Europe. If Cong Phuong or Van Thuan are regularly playing in the V.League, I believe that the Vietnamese national team will be significantly stronger.

Looking at the list of the U23 Vietnam team this time, we can see many familiar faces who have won the championship. The remaining new faces chosen by him are also potential players. Among them, the most prominent face is the Vietnamese-American player Tran Thanh Trung (Chung Nguyen Do), born in 2005 in Bulgaria to a Vietnamese family, currently holding dual Vietnamese and Bulgarian citizenship.

According to the plan, the Vietnam U23 team will gather and practice in Viet Tri ( Phu Tho ) from August 30. In Group C of the 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will meet U23 Bangladesh (September 3), U23 Singapore (September 6) and U23 Yemen (September 9).

Vietnam U23's opponents all showed their determination in preparing their squads well for this tournament. Bangladesh U23 showed great determination to cause a surprise in this year's tournament when the country's Football Federation supported foreign players to soon acquire Bangladeshi citizenship.

U23 Yemen – a direct competitor for the ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship with U23 Vietnam – has officially announced the list of 23 players participating in the qualifying round taking place in Viet Tri (Phu Tho). Notably, all 3 strikers registered by the West Asian team are national team players.

To prepare for the qualifying round, coach Amin Al Suneini and his team have undergone a thorough training process. The team will be 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. The results of these matches will not be disclosed to ensure professional confidentiality.

Meanwhile, U23 Singapore is a team with secretive preparations. Previously, U23 Singapore did not participate in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament.

With an increasingly improved squad and the emergence of promising players, the U23 Vietnam team promises to continue to bring fans impressive and emotional performances in the upcoming continental qualifying round.

Coach Kim Sang-sik expects the audience to cheer on U23 Vietnam
Coach Kim Sang-sik is expected to conquer the goal with the Vietnam U23 team.
Coach Kim Sang-sik emphasized that at the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship held in Viet Tri as well as the recent 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Championship in Viet Tri and Hai Phong , the stands were always bright with the red color of the national flag.
That image was truly amazing and a great source of motivation for the players. The Korean coach hopes that the passionate and inspiring atmosphere will continue to be recreated in the upcoming qualifiers.
To serve the needs of fans, tickets for matches are sold online exclusively on the OneU app, with three denominations of VND100,000, VND200,000 and VND300,000. Ticket issuance is divided into three different phases, lasting from August 25 to September 5. In each phase, audiences can buy tickets for specific match days, including September 3, September 6 and September 9, depending on the sales schedule.
The division into batches is expected to help fans easily access, while ensuring that the stands at Viet Tri Stadium are always filled to give more strength to the U23 Vietnam team in the important journey in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.