After a dramatic 3-2 victory over U23 UAE after 120 minutes of play, U23 Vietnam officially won a ticket to the semi-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. Speaking after the match, striker Dinh Bac emphasized the team spirit, the coaching staff's direction and requested the whole team to maintain focus in the next stage.
Dinh Bac sent his thanks to those who have accompanied the team: "Thank you to the coaching staff, logistics team, players, for bringing victory to the semi-finals. We continue to try to play well in the semi-finals, continue to fight".
Dinh Bac is one of the players who made a clear impression after being brought on the field, especially in the opening goal of U23 Vietnam.
This striker said that he had correctly implemented the tactical requirements from coach Kim Sang-sik: "Before I entered the field, coach Kim instructed that the opponent retreated deep, I tried to control the ball in the opponent's half to put pressure.
In the first goal, I did exactly as instructed, escaped to the wing, had a cross into the box to help Phat score".
Dinh Bac also congratulated his teammates: "Congratulations Le Phat on this goal. Phat deserved a goal. Hope Phat will play better in the next match".
At the time U23 Vietnam was equalized by U23 UAE twice, the player born in 2004 believed that psychological factors played a key role.
He revealed his exchanges right on the field with his teammates: "Personally, when the team was equalized 2 times in a row, I reminded the players to be calm, control their psychology, control the game, and continue to maintain pressure.
When the goal came, we were very happy, we had to remind each other not to be equalized anymore and we did it. The whole team is very happy".
Speaking about the post-match plan, Dinh Bac said that U23 Vietnam will quickly return to the professional wheel to prepare for the semi-finals: "Fans will be very happy with this victory. And I and my teammates will return to the hotel to eat, drink, and sleep.
Tomorrow, we will have a meeting to analyze today's match, see what we are doing well and not well before going to the training ground. We are trying to have good preparation before the semi-finals.
