According to the plan, the Vietnam Football Federation has agreed on a plan to send the U21 team to participate in ASIAD 2026, instead of the U23 team, to create conditions for young players to soon accumulate international competition experience.
With that orientation, in the current group of U23 Vietnam players, only a very few faces meet the age criteria to be able to participate in ASIAD.
In the goalkeeper position, Pham Dinh Hai (2006) is a prominent name. Cao Van Binh (2005) is also in the group that can be considered even though he has approached the above age threshold. Meanwhile, number one goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien (2003) has exceeded the age frame and may not be in the plan for ASIAD.
The defense of U23 Vietnam currently has almost no players qualified to participate in ASIAD with the U21 Vietnam team. Central defenders and defenders such as Ly Duc, Hieu Minh, Nhat Minh, Duc Anh or Anh Quan were all born in 2003-2004, i.e. over 22 years old.
The midfield still has faces that meet the requirements. Le Van Thuan (2006) and Nguyen Cong Phuong (2006) are both in the U21 age group, with experience playing in international tournaments.
Notably, Nguyen Le Phat (2007) - the youngest player on the current list may be one of the factors prioritized for ASIAD. Midfielders born in 2003-2004 such as Thai Son, Xuan Bac, Viktor Le, Van Khang or Quoc Cuong are no longer in the list of choices.
In attack, U23 Vietnam currently does not have any strikers who meet the criteria. Strikers such as Quoc Viet (2003), Thanh Nhan (2003), Ngoc My (2004) or Dinh Bac (2004) are all overage according to personnel orientation for ASIAD, which means that U21 Vietnam needs to find new options from the 19-20 age group.
Looking further, at the 2028 AFC U23 Championship two years later, players born in 2005 or later are all eligible to participate. In the current list, Cao Van Binh (2005) and Pham Dinh Hai (2006) still have the opportunity to compete for goalkeeper positions.
The trio of midfielders Le Van Thuan (2006), Nguyen Cong Phuong (2006) and Nguyen Le Phat (2007) are suitable names to build a new framework.
Conversely, the defense and attack will have to "change blood" almost entirely, because the group of players born in 2003-2004 will no longer be old enough to participate in the tournament.
