Goals of U22 Vietnam
At the 33rd SEA Games taking place in Thailand next December, U22 Vietnam aims to compete for the Gold Medal of the Games. This goal is considered a challenge as opponents in the region have shown careful preparation. U22 Thailand, U22 Malaysia or U22 Indonesia all showed great ambition, thereby creating a fierce race.
To achieve the set goal, from the beginning of 2025, coach Kim Sang-sik has implemented a personnel plan, gathering the best force in the U22 age group. In addition to the familiar players who have participated in previous youth tournaments, the Korean coach has given opportunities to many outstanding new faces from V.League and First Division clubs.
Most of the gatherings were mainly led by Acting Head Coach Dinh Hong Vinh, with the goal of screening the force and evaluating their performance. After each stage, professional information is compiled and reported in detail to Mr. Kim Sang-sik, helping him make more accurate decisions in building the optimal squad.
The Korean coach directly led Vietnam to the U23 Asian qualifiers, which was also Mr. Kim's first official tournament at the U22/U23 level. In this qualifying round, Vietnam won all 3 matches against Yemen, Bangladesh and Singapore, thereby winning tickets to the final round, creating a positive psychological momentum towards the SEA Games.
Professional preparation and positive signals
In the professional preparation plan, U22 Vietnam will experience many domestic and international training sessions, including the CFA Team China friendly tournament (March 2025), a training trip in the UAE with two matches against U22 Qatar and most recently attending the Panda Cup 2025 in China. These training trips help the coaching staff test the players' ability to adapt to many different opponent styles.
At the Panda Cup 2025, U22 Vietnam just defeated U22 China 1-0, which is considered to bring many positive signals about tactics and playing style. According to coach Dinh Hong Vinh, the team showed a good fighting spirit and adhered to tactics. The ability to press at high altitudes, change the state and coordinate group defense are clear improvements compared to previous stages.
Notably, reasonable ball circulation, control of the tempo and pressing organization caused many difficulties for the opponent. The coaching staff assessed this as an important experimental match, helping the team gradually shape the playing style.
In the second match against U22 Uzbekistan, U22 Vietnam lost 0-1, but this is an opportunity for the team to improve their expertise. The opponent possesses a superior physical foundation and international experience, helping Vietnamese players compete with a powerful and tightly organized playing style.
According to Mr. Vinh, despite conceding an early goal, the team still maintained their composure, gradually regained the rhythm of the match and created some notable opportunities. The biggest limitation that the coaching staff pointed out was the ability to handle the ball in the final stages and maintain continuous pressure.
The matches at Panda Cup helped U22 Vietnam complete the goal of testing the squad and accumulating experience. Coach Dinh Hong Vinh emphasized that the most important thing is the progress of the players through each stage, because the team needs a stable foundation when entering the SEA Games - where competition pressure is high and the density is continuous.
Since the training sessions, the U22 Vietnam squad is gradually being perfected. Many young players have shown clear maturity in their playing thinking, coordination and tactical discipline, such as Viktor Le, Minh Phuc, Thai Son, Van Thuan, Van Binh, Trung Kien, Hieu Minh... The coaching staff will continue to review the force for nearly the remaining month, before finalizing the official list to participate in the 33rd SEA Games.
Aiming for the most important tournament of the year, U22 Vietnam aims to compete fairly to win the Gold Medal. This is also a necessary stepping stone to move further in the U23 Asian finals next year. With a long preparation process and a clear personnel roadmap in the past time, fans can put their trust in coach Kim Sang-sik and his students in the upcoming SEA Games 33 journey.
