After the breathtaking victory against U23 Korea in the 3rd place match of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship taking place on the evening of January 23rd and ending in the early morning of January 24th (Vietnam time), coach Kim Sang-sik expressed pride in the courageous fighting spirit of his students, especially in the context that U23 Vietnam had to play with fewer players for most of the second half and the entire extra time.
U23 Vietnam drew 2-2 after 120 minutes of play before winning 7-6 in the penalty shootout, thereby winning 3rd place overall. In the 87th minute, striker Dinh Bac received a direct red card, causing the red shirt team to fall into a disadvantageous situation.
Sharing about this situation, coach Kim Sang-sik said: "Dinh Bac scored today and perhaps because he was too excited, it led to a mistake to be sent off. That was a difficult situation. But I still always trust my players.
Even though there are only 10 people left, I am confident they can still try to maintain the game to the end. In the previous match, U23 Vietnam also had player Ly Duc leave the field. In such cases, it is very difficult for the coach to do anything to compensate for the situation.
Assessing the overall efforts of the whole team, the Korean coach emphasized: "Football is truly a difficult and arduous sport. I want to send words of encouragement to all players and members of U23 Korea. Everyone has worked hard. As for our players, since the beginning of the tournament until now, every match has been extremely difficult.
Mr. Kim Sang-sik also expressed pride in the fighting spirit of his students: "In today's match, the whole team is still determined to play their best despite being short of players and winning in the penalty shootout. Congratulations to you.
I am very proud of the whole team. Thank you Vietnamese fans. In particular, Hieu Minh suffered a serious injury in this tournament, and I really hope he will recover soon.
Talking about the maturity of the players after the tournament, coach Kim Sang-sik shared: "Both the current U23 Korea and U23 Vietnam teams are very tired both physically and mentally. However, the players of both sides today have tried their best, showing extremely courageous fighting spirit.
Especially in the situation where we were missing one person, the players maintained the draw until extra time and dragged the match into a penalty shootout. I believe that through such experiences, the U23 Vietnam players will mature more and this will be an opportunity for them to continue to develop”.
At the end of the press conference, coach Kim Sang-sik thanked the whole team and fans: "This match is very difficult. I want to thank the entire U23 Vietnam team as well as the coaching staff for working hard. We played with 10 people but still won. I am very grateful.
I want to thank the fans who came directly to the stadium as well as cheered on television. I also want to thank Hieu Minh, who was injured in the previous match. I thank all the players for their best efforts.
