Excellent performance of U23 Vietnam
U23 Vietnam plays like an Asian giant", "U23 Vietnam's victory shows the bravery and class of the players, as well as the coaching talent of coach Kim Sang-sik"...
These are comments from football experts about the excellent performance of U23 Vietnam in the final round of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship - a tournament that gathers 16 of the strongest teams in the continent, a launching pad for future national teams.
Not being overestimated before the tournament, U23 Vietnam played excellently, convincingly winning a ticket to the semi-finals. The team is one of the two teams that won all 3 matches in the group stage, defeating U23 Saudi Arabia, U23 Jordan - football backgrounds that have won tickets to the 2026 World Cup.
In the quarterfinals, the team defeated U23 UAE with a score of 3-2, in a dominant game in extra time, taking advantage of the superiority in physical strength and endurance, making the opponent unable to resist.
The ticket to the semi-finals of the AFC U23 Championship is an affirmation of the strong rise of Vietnamese football, bringing hope for opportunities to participate in the World Cup in the near future. For the first time, fans have seen a generation of Vietnamese players turn fixed plays into weapons, efficiency, fitness, endurance slightly better than opponents... This is a common playing style in the strongest teams in Asia.
This shows that U23 Vietnam has matured and brought great hope to fans, hoping to create a strong national team in the future, winning tickets to the World Cup.
New journey for Vietnamese sports
U23 Vietnam's victory may be just the beginning. But fans have the right to "dream" about the prospect that the country's sports can shine even more in the Asian arena.
In particular, with clear progress in investing in sports infrastructure, domestic and international public opinion is expecting Vietnam's sports industry to soon reach the goal of organizing regional and world-class sports tournaments.
If in the past, Vietnam's sports infrastructure still had many limitations for national-level competition and training, in just the past 2 years, the strategic investment of "giants" is opening up a larger picture in this potential field.
Most recently, in mid-January 2026, in Ho Chi Minh City, Rach Chiec National Sports Complex in Ho Chi Minh City was grounded by Sun Group as the investor.
According to the plan, Rach Chiec National Sports Complex has a total area of more than 186.78 ha. In which, the central stadium (SVD) is a key item, with a scale of 24ha, total investment of 35,000 billion VND, capacity of 70,000 seats.
The stadium is designed with flexible roofing technology, with automatic opening and closing capabilities, and integrates advanced sound insulation solutions, equipped with the most modern air conditioning system today, which can adjust the temperature according to each stand area.
This modern design and equipment system allows the stadium not only to organize international-scale sports events, but also to automatically transform into a multi-functional stage, serving large-scale music festivals, regional and world-class entertainment programs.
Rach Chiec National Sports Complex is also planned as a multi-functional sports complex, capable of meeting the needs of organizing competitions, training and performances for about 90% of Olympic sports.
The project is expected to be completed after 5 years and promises to become a symbol for the development of Ho Chi Minh City in the new phase. This promises to be the most modern sports complex and stadium in Southeast Asia, of world stature after completion, capable of hosting large-scale sports events.
Architect Khuong Van Muoi - Former Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Architects: "An international standard sports center is indispensable for a megacity, especially when our athletes have achieved many outstanding achievements at SEA Games 33 in Thailand. The city hopes that this center will become a place to create conditions for developing capacity for the young generation, arousing the potential of young people, expressed through achievements in the international arena".
Rach Chiec National Sports Complex in Ho Chi Minh City is not a single case. Across the country, the thinking of developing international-scale sports facilities is being implemented synchronously in Hanoi with Trong Dong Stadium or Stadium in Hung Yen...
In parallel with the professional advances in sports in general and football in particular, building world-class and modern sports infrastructure will contribute to helping Vietnam soon host major sports events such as the Olympics or the World Cup.
The World Cup may not come tomorrow. But with a methodical investment strategy, a system of world-class sports complexes is gradually forming, the dream of Vietnam hosting the biggest sports events on the planet is no longer a distant prospect, but a well-founded goal, with a roadmap and a solid belief.
