U23 Vietnam will face U23 UAE in the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. This is a very big challenge for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team when the statistics are not on the side of the "Golden Star Warriors".
In the past, U23 Vietnam has never defeated U23 UAE. As of before the quarter-finals this year, the two teams have met 8 times in many different arenas. The result leans towards the West Asian representative when the opponent has 5 wins and 3 draws.
The first encounter was the group stage of ASIAD 14 (2002), ending with a score of 0-0. The remaining two draws were the friendly match in 2019 (1-1) and the group stage of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship (0-0).
U23 Vietnam's defeats against UAE lasted through many stages. In 2014, in the 1/8 round of ASIAD 17, the team led by coach Toshiya Miura lost 1-3.
Two years later, Vietnam continued to lose 2-3 to the UAE in the group stage of the 2016 AFC U23 Championship, in a match where both Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh scored.
The most regrettable was the bronze medal match at ASIAD 18 in 2018, when coach Park Hang-seo's team drew 3-3 in official time but lost on penalties.
The two most recent encounters were both heavy defeats, with scores of 0-3 (2022) and 0-4 (2023) respectively in friendly matches.
After 8 encounters, U23 Vietnam only scored 6 goals against UAE and conceded 15 goals. Therefore, UAE is considered a "taboo" opponent of Vietnam at the U23 level, alongside Uzbekistan and North Korea.
However, in the group stage of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, U23 Vietnam partially broke down psychological barriers when they successively defeated Jordan and Saudi Arabia - two teams that were previously on the list of undefeated teams.
The upcoming rematch is more meaningful than a knockout match. If they win, U23 Vietnam will not only take another step at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, but also eliminate the "trick" against U23 UAE after nearly two decades.
