U23 Vietnam's victory over U23 Kyrgyzstan in the 2nd match of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship group stage received the attention of Southeast Asian media.
Notably, the Indonesian and Thai press have opposing views when evaluating the performance of coach Kim Sang-sik's team.
In Indonesia, many newspapers believe that U23 Vietnam has the element of luck accompanying them. Sports sites in the Isles focus on analyzing the origin of the two goals of the red shirt team, when they all originated from set pieces.
The penalty kick in the 18th minute and the decisive goal in the 87th minute with a situation where the ball touched the opposing defender's foot and changed direction, were more random than the consequence of the overwhelming game," Indonesian newspaper commented.
Meanwhile, some Indonesian writers also said that U23 Kyrgyzstan started well and created no small amount of pressure, while U23 Vietnam had moments of physical disarray but still won all 3 points thanks to taking advantage of rare opportunities well.
On social networks, this view continues to be emphasized when some accounts specializing in Asian football believe that the match result does not fully reflect the developments on the field.
According to them, both teams showed errors in defense, but U23 Vietnam "survived" thanks to their ability to seize opportunities and partly luck in decisive moments.
Conversely, Thai media gave a more positive assessment for the neighboring team. The famous sports newspaper of the Golden Temple country recognized the victory over Kyrgyzstan as proof of the stability of U23 Vietnam at this year's tournament.
According to Thai newspapers, good control of set pieces and maintaining concentration until the end of the match are key factors helping U23 Vietnam overcome the challenge.
Some Thai football fan pages even admit the No. 1 position in Southeast Asia of U23 Vietnam at the present time, especially when compared to the team's unsatisfactory performance.
However, there are also opinions from Thailand that U23 Vietnam's playing style still depends heavily on high balls and fixed arrangements. This could become a limitation if faced with a stronger opponent.
At this time, U23 Vietnam is still holding a great advantage in the race to win tickets to the quarterfinals. However, the road ahead requires caution when facing host U23 Saudi Arabia in the final match.
