On the evening of January 9, U23 Vietnam won narrowly 2-1 against U23 Kyrgyzstan in the 2nd match of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals.
The Golden Star Warriors" opened the score in the 19th minute after a successful penalty kick from Khuat Van Khang. However, before the first half ended, Marlen finished very well to equalize 1-1 for U23 Kyrgyzstan.
In the second half, coach Kim Sang-sik made a series of force adjustments, including the appearance of Van Thuan, Dinh Bac, Cong Phuong...
In the 87th minute, joy came to U23 Vietnam when Van Thuan headed from close range, hitting the opponent's foot before entering the net, sealing a 2-1 victory for the red team.
After 2 rounds of matches, U23 Vietnam won all 6 points and temporarily leads Group A (effectiveness +3). U23 Saudi Arabia ranked 3rd with 3 points, but played 1 match less. The home team is determined to defeat U23 Jordan in the 2nd match to compete for the top spot.
The remaining two positions in Group A respectively belong to U23 Jordan (0 points, goal difference -2) and U23 Kyrgyzstan (0 points, goal difference -2).
