Despite having to face highly rated opponents in the 2025 CFA Team China tournament, U22 Vietnam still played quite bravely.
The students of coach Dinh Hong Vinh drew with U22 Korea, U22 Uzbekistan and host U22 China to finish the tournament in 3rd place overall. Even in the final match against host China, U22 Vietnam took the lead for most of the match. The host China, with his fearless style of play, scored and ended the match with a score of 1-1, thereby winning the championship at home.
Although they could not win the championship due to the referee's confusing decision, U22 Vietnam left a strong impression. Goalkeeper Van Binh won the title of "Best Goalkeeper", while the whole team ended the tournament with an unbeaten record.
The bright spot of U22 Vietnam in this tournament can be mentioned as Viktor Le. Although he has just been called up for the first time, the overseas Vietnamese midfielder of Hong Linh Ha Tinh Club has taken the full trust of coach Dinh Hong Vinh. Her technical dribbling and assist for Quoc Viet to score against U22 China is a clear testament to the midfielder's class.
After the gathering of the Vietnam National Team on the occasion of FIFA Days in March 2025, young players of the U22 age group such as Nguyen Thai Son, Khuat Van Khang, Bui Vi Hao will also be invested towards the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.
According to coach Hoang Van Phuc, U22 Vietnam is preparing most carefully compared to other countries in the region to aim for the 33rd SEA Games and the goal of winning a ticket to the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals.
In 2025, the U22 Vietnam National Team has two important tasks: the 33rd SEA Games and aiming to win a ticket to the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals. This is a big challenge for coach Kim Sang-sik. The Korean coach needs to have the best preparation to complete the set goals. Compared to Southeast Asian countries, the preparation of the U22 Vietnam Team is considered the most thorough. With quite early preparation, coach Kim Sang-sik and his colleagues will have assessments, selections and soon prepare a framework and playing style suitable for the current people of Vietnamese football.
The goal of U22 Vietnam is to win the 33rd SEA Games Gold Medal and participate in the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals. The time frame is still quite long, so coach Kim Sang-sik will have more experimental options to evaluate the quality of personnel for U22 Vietnam. In theory, coach Kim Sang-sik has very good players to complete the goals in 2025" - coach Hoang Van Phuc shared.
Coach Hoang Van Phuc also highly appreciated the quality of the squad of U22 Vietnam at the present time.
He said: I think that the current young team will certainly receive a lot of support from fans, because they rely on positive performances to bring many new rays of hope to the next generation of the Vietnam National Team. The value of youth football and young players does not lie in achievements or titles, but is the first key to opening a new horizon for the country's football scene. A horizon filled with the aspirations of the young generation, while representing the desire to reach the height and development of Vietnamese football. Fans should share and believe in this U22 generation, because this is the future of Vietnamese football and they need more experience to mature. U22 is currently the future of Vietnamese football, need to be cared for for for for long-term goals, not at all costs to win SEA Games Gold, then not develop in higher tournaments".
