After a dramatic quarter-final series, U23 Vietnam and U23 China will face each other in the semi-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.
U23 Vietnam won the right to advance after an emotional match. Against U23 UAE, coach Kim Sang-sik's team proactively pushed up the tempo, ready to play attacking midfield instead of huddled to defend.
3 goals from Le Phat, Dinh Bac and Minh Phuc helped the "Golden Star Warriors" take the lead in key moments, thereby closing the match with a 3-2 victory. This result shows the clear progress of U23 Vietnam in both bravery and attacking organization.
In the opposite direction, the journey of U23 China is different. Facing U23 Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals, Li Hao and his teammates prioritized certainty, accepting to drag the match into a stalemate. After 120 minutes without a goal, U23 China defeated the opponent 4-2 on penalties to reach the semi-finals for the first time.
Regarding the history of opponents, U23 Vietnam and U23 China last met at the Panda Cup 2025. At that time, U23 Vietnam defeated the opponent with a score of 1-0 thanks to Minh Phuc's late goal.
More broadly, in total at the U23 level, the two teams have faced each other 8 times (official and friendly) with quite balanced results. However, if only considering official matches, U23 China is slightly better when they have defeated Vietnam twice in the 2000 Olympic qualifiers.
Against a solid opponent, coach Kim Sang-sik is unlikely to risk changing the squad. U23 Vietnam prioritizes using familiar players such as Trung Kien, Hieu Minh, Nhat Minh, Thai Son, Van Khang, Xuan Bac...
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