After the 2-1 victory over U23 Kyrgyzstan in the 2nd match of Group A of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals, coach Kim Sang-sik admitted that the U23 Vietnam team still has points that do not really satisfy him, although the result brings an important advantage in the race to win tickets to the quarterfinals.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, the Korean strategist highly appreciated the fighting spirit of his students but said that U23 Vietnam had gone through a match that was not easy at all.
He said: "I am not completely satisfied with today's result. The opponent lost in the previous match, so there is a great determination. Although we scored first, this is a difficult match and I am not completely satisfied with the result.
According to Mr. Kim, this victory helps U23 Vietnam have greater self-determination, although the ticket to the next round is still not guaranteed.
Today we have won, although we are still not 100% sure of reaching the quarter-finals, but this victory also brings us an advantage. I want to congratulate and thank the players for trying to fight to the end to get this result," Mr. Kim said.
Referring to personnel issues before the final match against U23 Saudi Arabia, coach Kim Sang-sik said that the coaching staff is considering the possibility of rotating the squad.
Ly Duc and Hieu Minh are both very tired after 2 matches, so we will assess the physical condition of the players before deciding before the final match. I will also wait to see the result of U23 Saudi Arabia vs U23 Jordan, if possible, I will consider rotating," coach Kim Sang-sik added.
Besides, this coach also explained the decision to use Van Thuan in the 2nd half: "Because Dinh Bac was injured, I planned to bring him in in the 2nd half. As for Van Thuan, from the previous tournament until recent matches, Thuan always performed well when he was allowed to play in the 2nd half, causing difficulties for the opponent. Especially today, Van Thuan also helped bring in a goal from a corner kick, and generally created a positive effect on the whole team.
On the other side, coach Edmar of U23 Kyrgyzstan admitted that the defeat to U23 Vietnam was regrettable but deserved. He said: "It's a pity that we conceded 1 goal from a penalty and 1 goal from a corner kick. But congratulations U23 Vietnam, they deservedly won, they played organizedly and were a strong team.
