The 2026 AFC U23 Championship third-place match with U23 Korea is the last time many players have been in the U23 Vietnam squad. After this match, they no longer belong to a collective called "young". They will have to move to a different stage of their careers, where all requirements are higher and there is less room for leniency.
Speaking of this transition, it is like the moment of "forming a team", "forming a delegation" with generations of young people. When you are still a team member, a union member, you are guided, reminded, made mistakes and corrected. When entering the "forming" stage, it is still those requirements, but the responsibility no longer belongs to the collective or the predecessor. Each individual must be responsible for their thoughts and actions.
For the players, from U23 to the national team, it is still that jersey, but the role will be different. They are no longer seen as a future to wait for, but as a force to create results. Physical strength must be more stable, psychology must be stronger, experience must be sufficient to handle difficult situations, and most importantly, self-control in pressure.
When age gradually increases with time, they no longer have the opportunity to return to youth. Either the national team, or stop if they do not strive. And when at the national team level, opponents are no longer of the same age, but are diverse styles, older, younger, experienced, cunning, outstanding talent... to force them to strive to "deal".
Those things are no different from when you leave school, step into social life. There is a period when you are allowed to experiment, are allowed to stumble, are allowed to cite youth to explain shortcomings. But then it will be time, age is no longer a reason. Work requires efficiency, relationships require responsibility, society requires trust.
Going through youth does not mean giving up aspiration or innocence, enthusiasm, but when learning to work more seriously with oneself. Knowing where you are, what is missing, what needs to be compensated for, how to slow down or accelerate. From here, dreams need to be lifted with discipline, passion needs to be accompanied by competence and every word needs to be guaranteed by action.
