U23 Vietnam had a favorable opening match in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers with a 2-0 victory over U23 Bangladesh, thereby temporarily leading Group C. 2 goals of U23 Vietnam were scored by Ngoc My and overseas Vietnamese striker Viktor Le.
For Viktor Le personally, this is the first goal for the U23 Vietnam team, after 8 matches he played under coach Kim Sang-sik.
Viktor Le will wear the U23 Vietnam jersey for 3 matches at the CFA Team China 2025 tournament and 4 matches at the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian tournament. However, despite high expectations, this overseas Vietnamese striker of Russian origin has not been able to relieve the thirst for goals for U23 Vietnam.
Coach Kim Sang-sik's trust in Viktor Le has been rewarded. In the context that U23 Vietnam needs more goals to create a score gap with U23 Bangladesh in the opening match of the 2026 U23 Asian Cup Group stage, the Korean strategist sent Viktor Le on the field.
Playing only about the last 30 minutes of the match, Viktor Le had many dangerous shots towards the U23 Bangladesh goal. The striker's efforts were later concretized with the goal of raising the score to 2-0 for U23 Vietnam. Before that, if he had not been denied a close-range finish by the crossbar, the joy would have come sooner for Viktor Le.
This goal not only helped U23 Vietnam defeat U23 Bangladesh to rise to the top of Group C, but also relieved a lot of pressure on Viktor Le in the U23 Vietnam attack. In addition, it also affirms coach Kim Sang-sik's trust in overseas Vietnamese players.
"Viktor Le performed well when he was on the field, he followed the tactics set by the coaching staff. Congratulations to him on today's goal," coach Kim Sang-sik expressed his satisfaction with striker Viktor Le.
This satisfaction of coach Kim Sang-sik with Viktor Le will also help this player gain more confidence, motivation to compete and determination in the match against U23 Singapore, a very important match for U23 Vietnam.
Because as long as they can get a positive result, at least a draw against this opponent, U23 Vietnam will still maintain the top spot in Group C after 2 matches, thereby having the right to decide in the final match of the group stage with U23 Yemen.
