Vietnam U23 at Asiad 2026: The Quarter-Final Ticket Is Not the Final Destination

I sat in the seventh row of stand B at the National Sports Center training ground, holding my worn-spine notebook, watching Vietnam U23 train on a late-September afternoon. The smell of freshly cut grass from the morning still lingered in the humid northern air, mixed with the scent of warming balm that the players applied to their thighs after warming up. There was the sound of the ball hitting the inside of a boot, the sound of players calling to each other, and the sound of coach Dinh Hong Vinh shouting a phrase I had heard throughout nearly fifty years of following teams: "Keep the distance, keep the distance."

It was an ordinary training session. But within that ordinariness, I read signals that not everyone could see. When new media noisily knocks on the door, I still hear the old drumbeat from the stands. And that drumbeat, this time, is beating a very different rhythm compared to previous Asiad seasons.

The Vietnam Football Federation has set a quarter-final target for Vietnam U23 at Asiad 2026. This is a milestone assessed as entirely within the reach of the red-shirted team, given the current squad that coach Dinh Hong Vinh has at his disposal. But to understand why that goal is not an empty promise, I need to tell the story slowly, starting with the numbers and the names.

In the list of 23 players for Vietnam U23 at Asiad 2026, there are up to 16 names who appeared in the July training camp. This is something I paid special attention to, because in football, stability does not come from press conferences or media statements. It comes from periods of working together, from the way players understand each other without speaking, from combinations that outsiders see as coincidental but are actually the result of hundreds of hours of training.

Sixteen out of twenty-three. That is a ratio of nearly 70 percent. That period of working together creates a certain stability, from the way the system operates to the mutual understanding between positions on the field. The seven other faces compared to the most recent training camp, including Ly Duc, Quang Kiet, Pham Minh Phuc, Le Phat and Ngoc My, are also not new players. They are people who are familiar with the red shirt, familiar with the pressure of youth tournaments, and more importantly, familiar with the playing style that the coaching staff is building.

I have followed many teams in many different countries throughout my career. And I learned one thing: teams that succeed in short tournaments are not the ones with the most stars, but the ones with the least upheaval in personnel and playing style. Vietnam U23, at this moment, is achieving the stability that many teams of the same age group in Asia can only dream of.

Most of the 23 players in Vietnam U23's Asiad squad have already had one or two seasons playing in the V-League, alongside experiences at youth level, or most recently the AFC U23 Asian Cup. This is a detail I want to pause on a little longer, because it says a lot about the quality of the squad that coach Dinh Hong Vinh has in his hands.

When I was young, working as a reporter following teams in Korea, I witnessed generations of U23 players struggling to find starting spots in the domestic league. They trained well, they had potential, but they lacked real match minutes. And in football, nothing replaces real match minutes. A player can train thousands of hours, but only when he steps into an official match, with the pressure of results, with the presence of spectators, with decisions that must be made in an instant, does he truly grow up.

So when I read the information that most Vietnam U23 players have already had one or two seasons in the V-League, I understood that this is not a naive team. This is a team that has been tempered by the fire of professional football. They know what a must-win match is. They know what it feels like to be behind at home. They know what the boos of spectators and the applause of teammates sound like.

When they enter the Asiad, the red-shirted team is still among the names with the most experienced squads. This does not mean they will win easily. But it means they enter the tournament with a foundation that many opponents do not have.

The draw placed Vietnam U23 in a group with Uzbekistan, Kuwait and the Philippines. I followed this draw with special attention. Vietnam U23 sharing a group with Uzbekistan, Kuwait and the Philippines is certainly not easy. Uzbekistan is the most formidable opponent, coming from a football nation with a strong tradition in Central Asia, with a well-trained squad and superior physicality.

But the opportunity to compete for the top two positions remains wide open. If they make good use of the matches against Kuwait and the Philippines, the students of coach Dinh Hong Vinh can completely secure a ticket to the quarter-finals. Even more, Vietnam U23 can completely think about and replicate the achievements of their predecessors, that is, winning a place in the semi-finals or even a medal.

I remember the 2026 Asiad season, when the Vietnam Olympic team under coach Park Hang Seo made history by reaching the semi-finals. That was one of the most beautiful memories I have as a reporter covering Vietnamese football. The singing of the stands, the streams of people pouring into the streets, the tears of happiness of the young players. A stadium can change its name, but the singing of the stands is never copyrighted. Those moments live forever in the memory of those who witnessed them.

And now, seven years later, a new generation of players stands before the opportunity to replicate those moments. But their story is not the same as the story of their predecessors. Asian football has changed. Opponents have become stronger. And the pressure, in a way, is also greater, because Vietnamese football is now more expected.

There is one detail I want to emphasize, and I believe it is the most important detail in this story. How far Vietnam U23 will go at Asiad 2026 remains to be answered by reality. But one thing is certain: the biggest continental sports event is being used by coach Kim Sang Sik as another test for the U23 generation that won bronze at the AFC U23 Asian Cup earlier this year.

This is the key point that many overlook: Asiad 2026 is not simply a tournament. It is a test for the future of Vietnamese football, a bridge between the current U23 generation and the national team in the coming years.

I have had the opportunity to talk with coaches and football experts in many different countries, and they all agree that one of the biggest challenges of Asian football is the transition from youth level to national level. Many players perform excellently at youth tournaments but cannot overcome the barrier of elite football. They are left behind, not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of opportunity and psychological preparation.

That is also why the VFF and coach Kim Sang Sik changed their plan, from the U21 team to an almost strongest squad, with meaning beyond a single tournament. This is not a random decision. This is part of a long-term strategy.

I recall a conversation with a VFF official in 2026, when he told me: "We do not want our young players to be thrown into the fire without preparation. We want them to be tested, but in a controlled environment, where they can fail and still learn." That statement made me think a lot, because it showed the maturity in Vietnamese football's thinking. Instead of chasing short-term results, they are investing in the process.

To put it concretely, coach Kim Sang Sik has certainly made calculations for the future of the Vietnam national team, after the Asian Cup 2027. Naturally, the current Vietnam U23 players are part of that plan. And to have a chance, the U23 players must put themselves in the sight of the Korean strategist through performances against quality opponents they will meet at this Asiad.

This is something I, as a reporter who has followed Asian football for nearly five decades, see very clearly. Vietnam U23 players are not just playing for a medal. They are playing for their careers. Every ball, every decision, every moment on the field is an introduction to coach Kim Sang Sik and to the national team coaching staff.

I have witnessed many young players overwhelmed by this pressure. They play below their ability, because they are too worried about making an impression. That is one of the biggest psychological challenges in elite football. And I believe the Vietnam U23 coaching staff is well aware of this.

Of course, the Asiad is also just one of many tests for Vietnam U23 players, because alongside it there is regular performance in the V-League or the First Division season that has just started. This is a point I especially want to emphasize, because it shows a more comprehensive view of the development path of young Vietnamese players.

It can be seen that the Asiad is not a ticket to step immediately up to the national team, but is considered a key for Vietnam U23 to prove their ability to coach Kim Sang Sik as well as coaches at clubs. Only when they gradually secure a starting spot in the V-League does the door to the Vietnam national team open wider.

This is a view I fully share. In nearly fifty years of following football, I have witnessed too many young talents lost due to a lack of foundation. They shone in a short tournament, then disappeared from the football map, because they did not have a daily environment to develop.

The V-League and First Division seasons have just started. For Vietnam U23 players, this is the weekly stage, where they must prove their worth not only in a few Asiad matches, but throughout a long season. That is the harshest test. And in my view, it is also the fairest test.

Because in football, as I have told many young reporters throughout my career, nothing can hide the truth. A player can play well in a few matches, but to play well all season requires real qualities. A tournament like the Asiad can compress time, but it cannot change nature.

I have never written a player's name without checking its origin and native pronunciation. Isco taught me that a name is not just a syllable, but a whole person. And in this Vietnam U23 list, there are names I have taken the time to learn about, from their families, from the path they took to get here.

Take Ly Duc, for example. That is a name many may not know well. But if you look at how he plays, how he moves on the field, how he handles the ball under pressure, you will see a player who has been well trained. Or Quang Kiet, a player I have followed since youth-level matches. He has speed and decisiveness, qualities that modern football particularly values.

Pham Minh Phuc, Le Phat, Ngoc My. Those are other names on the list. Each name is a story. Each story is a journey. And all of them stand before an important turning point in their careers.

I remember an evening in Shenzhen, when I sat drinking tea with a long-time colleague and we talked about the young generation of Vietnamese players. He told me: "You know, what has changed is not talent. What has changed is professionalism. Young players now understand that they must live like professional athletes, eat like professional athletes, train like professional athletes. And that is why they can compete at a higher level."

I believe in that assessment. What I see in the current Vietnam U23 is not just talent. It is a generation of players who understand that elite football demands not only skill, but also discipline, sacrifice, and the ability to endure pressure.

At Asiad 2026, they will be tested by opponents from different football backgrounds. Uzbekistan comes with physical strength and tight organization, a characteristic style of Central Asian football. Kuwait and the Philippines, with their own characteristics, will also be tests that are not easy.

But I want to say something that perhaps few mention. Vietnam U23's group, overall, is not the hardest group. And in major tournaments, falling into a manageable group is no small advantage. It allows the team to build psychological momentum, accumulate confidence through each match, before entering more difficult knockout matches.

I have witnessed too many young teams eliminated from the group stage because they fell into overly harsh groups. And I have also witnessed teams that matured from manageable groups, only to create big surprises in the knockout round. Football is a sport of moments, but it is also a sport of processes.

The question I ask myself, sitting in the stands and watching Vietnam U23 players train, is: Do they have enough courage to seize this opportunity? Can they turn the days of training into moments of brilliance on the pitch?

The answer, of course, only time can tell. But I believe in the signals I have seen.

I believe in the stability of the 16 players who worked together in July. I believe in the experience of the players who have played in the V-League. I believe in the long-term strategy of coach Kim Sang Sik and the Vietnam Football Federation.

But above all, I believe in something I have learned over nearly fifty years in this profession: in football, great things do not come from great statements. They come from small moments, from silent efforts, from quiet training sessions, from the times a player tells himself that he must be better than yesterday.

I come to the stadium not to score goals, but to keep the rhythm for the stories. And the story of Vietnam U23 at Asiad 2026, to me, is a story of well-founded hope, of a generation of players growing up in a better environment than previous generations, and of a football nation learning to build for the future instead of chasing immediate results.

The quarter-finals are not the final destination. They are a milestone. And that milestone, if achieved, will have meaning far beyond a sporting result. It will be a signal that Vietnamese football is on the right path. That investment in the young generation is bearing fruit. That the quiet but persistent steps are gradually changing the landscape.

Every transfer window is a parting, but the heart of the team never leaves. Who will the Vietnam U23 players of today be in a few years? Where will they be when the Asian Cup 2027 takes place? What role will they play in the Vietnam national team? Those are the questions the coaching staff is trying to answer. And Asiad 2026 is one of the places to start answering.

When I left the stands that afternoon, the sky was beginning to darken. The players had left the field, leaving behind streaks of fresh grass and scattered balls. The smell of grass and sweat still lingered in the air. And in the stillness of the late afternoon, I heard, once again, the old drumbeat from the stands. That drumbeat was not noisy. It did not go viral. It did not need sensational headlines. But it had its own rhythm, a rhythm that has existed for decades, and will exist long after the new media trends are forgotten.

For Vietnam U23, the challenge ahead is clear. But so is the opportunity. And in football, as in life, what matters is not where you stand, but where you are going. Where is this generation of players going? I do not know for sure. But I will be here, watching, taking notes, and telling their story.

Because that is my job. And because, after nearly fifty years, I still believe that every generation of young players carries something new, something worth hoping for. And with Vietnam U23 at Asiad 2026, I see that more clearly than ever.

The silent locker room that day still lingered with the smell of grass and someone's tears. But today, that locker room is filled with laughter, conversation, and the sound of shoes on tiles. That is a sign of life. That is a sign of a team growing up.

And I, with my worn-spine notebook in hand, will record every moment. Because every moment, no matter how small, is part of a larger story. The story of Vietnamese football. The story of people, not just players, but young people carrying on their shoulders the dreams of a country.

That story does not end at Asiad 2026. It is only beginning. And to me, who always chases what the ball has rolled over, that is the most worth waiting for.