Siam Sport newspaper of Thailand titled the article: "At this time, we must shed our hats against U23 Vietnam", when admitting that it is very difficult to find a young team in the continent that can maintain stability and bravery like coach Kim Sang-sik's team.
According to the leading Thai sports newspaper, the breathtaking 3-2 victory over U23 UAE after 120 minutes of competition marked a special milestone in the history of Vietnamese football.
That is a streak of 15 consecutive wins, the longest ever at the U23 level - a number that regional experts must admire.
Siam Sport emphasizes that that impressive streak of achievements is built throughout many major tournaments.
Starting with the U23 Southeast Asian championship, where U23 Vietnam won all 4 matches, including a 1-0 victory over host Indonesia in the final.
Next, U23 Vietnam continued to show strength in the AFC U23 Championship qualifiers when they successively overcame Bangladesh, Singapore and Yemen to win the top spot in the group.
The next peak was the SEA Games 33 gold medal in Thailand, with a convincing victory over the home team in the final.
Entering the AFC U23 Championship finals in Saudi Arabia, Siam Sport assessed that U23 Vietnam still maintains the image of a disciplined, resilient and effective team.
3 consecutive victories against Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia in the group stage, before defeating U23 UAE in the quarterfinals, are clear proof of that strength.
Not only stopping at achievements, Thai media also especially noted that U23 Vietnam became the first Southeast Asian team to reach the U23 Asian Championship semi-finals twice, after the feat of winning the runner-up title in 2018.
According to Siam Sport, that foundation makes the confrontation with U23 China particularly anticipated. U23 Vietnam will enter the semi-finals with confidence, bravery and a completely different position from the past.
The match between U23 Vietnam and U23 China takes place at 10:30 PM on January 20.
