Coach Kim Sang-sik's affirmation 1 month after winning the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship, U23 Vietnam entered the second important campaign of the year, the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.
Before participating in the tournament, coach Kim Sang-sik finalized the list of 23 participating players. The fact that overseas Vietnamese player Tran Thanh Trung was not selected has created many conflicting views about the Korean strategist's use of players.
In this context, the most convincing answer from Mr. Kim was to help U23 Vietnam win enthusiastically against U23 Bangladesh on the opening day.
Regarding the force, U23 Vietnam is confident before playing U23 Bangladesh. 22/23 of the current players are Southeast Asian champions, together creating an overall record in the regional tournament. That is a milestone that after 20 years, a new team can repeat in the history of U23 Southeast Asia.
In addition, coach Kim Sang-sik is also assured about Khuat Van Khang's situation when he is fully recovered from his injury and is ready to play in the starting lineup.
Regarding the preparation process, in addition to the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in July, U23 Vietnam had previous quality training sessions. Notably, the team participated in the CFA Team China 2025 friendly tournament (China) in March.
Under the hands of head coach Dinh Hong Vinh, U23 Vietnam is unbeaten with 3 commendable draws against Korea, Uzbekistan and China.
With a meticulous and quality running schedule, it is not surprising that U23 Vietnam is confident in aiming for the top spot in Group C of the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.
Moreover, competing in the "sacred land" of Viet Tri (Phu Tho) will give coach Kim Sang-sik and his team more motivation to be determined to win big against U23 Bangladesh.
U23 Bangladesh is unlikely to create a surprise
A day before facing U23 Vietnam, U23 Bangladesh encountered difficulties when head coach Saiful Bari Titu had a fever and was hospitalized.
Regarding the preparation process, U23 Bangladesh only had enough players yesterday (September 2) when left winger Fahamedul Islam rushed to move from Italy to the army.
With his presence, U23 Bangladesh currently has 4 international players in the squad. Previously, the trio of Cuba Mitchell (UK - Jamaica), Zayyan Ahmed (USA) and Fahmeed Salik (UK) were in Vietnam since August 30.
However, this cannot fill the modest level of Bangladesh football. They were among the worst teams in the U23 Asian qualifiers 2 years ago. This team has lost all 3 matches, is at the bottom of the table and has not scored a single goal.
Over the past year, U23 Bangladesh has only won 1 match against Mongolia - one of the weakest teams in Asia. Facing an opponent with limited strength, U23 Vietnam is completely optimistic about a big win, thereby creating a smooth start in this U23 Asian qualifiers.
The match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Bangladesh takes place at 19:00 today (September 3).
Expected lineup:
U23 Vietnam: Trung Kien, Ly Duc, Hieu Minh, Nhat Minh, Anh Quan, Xuan Bac, Phi Hoang, Van Khang, Van Truong, Dinh Bac, Cong Phuong.
U23 Bangladesh: Srabon, Shanta, Ahad Topu, Hossen, Hossain, Rahman Jony, Morsalin, Salik, Ni Jum, Cuba Mitchell, Rahul.
