On the afternoon of March 17, the Vietnam U23 team had their first training session at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. This is a gathering to prepare for a friendly tournament in China at the end of this month.
In an exchange with the press, head coach Dinh Hong Vinh said: "This time, U23 Vietnam is mostly all young players and they have rarely played in the past year. This is also a generation of players planned for tasks in 2026, including ASIAD in September. Friendly tournaments are opportunities for us to prepare for screening and evaluation, and select long-term forces for Vietnamese football".
Before U23 Vietnam, striker Nguyen Le Phat suffered a shoulder injury and missed appointments with his teammates. He needs 1 month to rest before he can return to play.
Phat is a good player, I am very sorry that he is absent from this gathering. Yesterday, I learned that Le Phat suffered an shoulder injury, which also affects the playing style and team building of the upcoming team," Mr. Vinh said.
Notably, the Vietnam U23 team welcomed a new factor, Vietnamese-American player Antonio Moric (NK Trnje club, Croatia), who was just promoted from the Vietnam U19 team.
Assessing this player, coach Dinh Hong Vinh said: "Previously he was in my plan. Through assessment, Moric is a Viet Kieu player, this time gathering from U19 to check and prepare well for the upcoming force.
This time, if he adapts to the team, he will have the opportunity to play with the U23 team. Currently, it is not possible to fully assess Moric's ability, but initially the plan was built with him. The U23 generation is at a higher level and we need time to evaluate him.
For all national teams, we are always open to finding the best talents and people for Vietnamese football in the future".
The captain of U23 Vietnam also added that, with the attention of VFF leaders, the teams will have many gatherings in 2026. Therefore, the coaching staff believes that this new generation will be focused, trained, improve their level, tactics, international experience and will mature more in the upcoming international matches.
In the plan, we are preparing a preliminary list of nearly 100 players. Through this phase, we are screening and evaluating carefully to prepare well for the upcoming friendly tournament," Mr. Vinh emphasized.
