The difference in the U22 Vietnam squad

Unbalanced lineup

In the first training session in 2025 towards the 2025 U23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games, coach Kim Sang-sik called up 27 players for U22 Vietnam. The ingredients called up by the Korean coach are very diverse, present in many aspects.

In terms of age, the players range from 18 to 22 years old (born in 2003 to 2007), which is intertwined with two young generations of Vietnamese football. Meanwhile, the height of U22 Vietnam is not uniform. About 6-7 faces are over 1m80 tall, some range from 1m70 to 1m78 and especially goalkeeper Nguyen Tan is up to 1m90 tall, or Ho Van Cuong is the lowest player at only 1m69.

What makes the current head coach Dinh Hong Vinh most concerned is the imbalance in experience and level of U22 Vietnam. It cannot be denied that Mr. Kim brings diversity when the force is called up from the First Division, V.League to the Singapore National Championship, 4th division of the Czech Republic, but this is invisible, making it difficult for the team to create consistency in the quality of competition.

The two practice matches of U22 Vietnam against U19 PVF and Bac Ninh club also pointed out Mr. Dinh Hong Vinh's concern. The constant difference between the levels that the players go through makes the coordination and handling of situations disjointed, confusing, and lack of synchronization.

Awarding opportunities and assessing capacity

It is not surprising if U22 Vietnam does not compete successfully in terms of results at the 2025 CFA Team China friendly tournament, especially when facing 3 stronger teams: U22 China, U22 Uzbekistan and U22 Korea.

This is something that coach Dinh Hong Vinh has anticipated and regularly discussed with Mr. Kim Sang-sik about the current problem of U22 Vietnam. Based on the report of his colleagues, the Korean coach also assigned a core goal, which is to try to assemble players to best develop their abilities.

Through actual performances on the field, based on the potential and suitability in each position, the U22 players will be selected by coach Dinh Hong Vinh, giving them more opportunities in the next training sessions. "The main goal of U22 Vietnam is to select high-quality personnel, with the destination being the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games at the end of this year" - coach Dinh Hong Vinh shared.

Up to now, Mr. Vinh is trying to arrange the pieces in reasonable locations. For example, the case of Andrej Nguyen An Khanh. With an unimpressive physique (1m74), this midfielder is at a disadvantage when competing in the midfield area as well as having difficulty promoting his ability in the 2-center midfield formation (3-4-3-3 formation) that U22 Vietnam is oriented for.

Realizing that, coach Vinh proactively pushed An Khanh up to play as a winger. At that time, overseas Vietnamese players can improve their speed in dribbling, moving, choosing space and finishing. An Khanh herself also eased her worries about limiting her own defense. This is the destination of the U22 Vietnam coaching staff in this training session.

It should be emphasized that U22 Vietnam currently does not have the strongest force. Some prominent faces such as Trung Kien, Ly Duc, Van Khang, Thai Son or Vi Hao are joining the Vietnam National Team with higher challenges. Meanwhile, a few other names such as: Dinh Bac (Hanoi Police), Duc Viet (Phu Dong Ninh Binh), Ngoc My (Thanh Hoa), Tuan Phong (The Cong Viettel) are absent for different reasons.

Of course, instead of focusing on the score when playing friendly matches, U22 Vietnam focuses on finding and developing personnel. Based on the resources available from this gathering, the team will continue to screen in the coming June.