This result makes U23 Saudi Arabia only have 3 points, equal to U23 Jordan and losing to U23 Vietnam (6 points). Meanwhile, U23 Kyrgyzstan is at the bottom of the table with 0 points.
According to Saudi Arabian media, U23 Saudi Arabia has made things difficult for themselves after a surprising 2-3 defeat to U23 Jordan. This result forced the team nicknamed "Blue Eagles" to defeat U23 Vietnam in the final match, to have a chance to win a ticket to the quarterfinals.
U23 Vietnam almost has a spot in the quarter-finals after a 2-1 victory over U23 Kyrgyzstan. The remaining spot to advance in the group stage will be a competition between U23 Saudi Arabia and U23 Jordan. In the final round of the group stage, U23 Saudi Arabia will meet U23 Vietnam and U23 Jordan will meet U23 Kyrgyzstan," Saudi Arabian media commented.
U23 Saudi Arabia participates in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship as the host team. They are considered one of the strongest candidates for the championship, because they have many players wearing the national team jersey, winning tickets to the 2026 World Cup.
However, after 2 matches played, they left many disappointments. In the first match, they only defeated U23 Kyrgyzstan 1-0, missing a penalty even though they played with more men.
After losing to U23 Jordan 2-3, coach Luigi Di Biagio said that he will not seek excuses for U23 Saudi Arabia's performance.
He emphasized that compared to the previous match, U23 Saudi Arabia showed a clear improvement in the second half of the match against U23 Jordan in terms of formation and control of the midfield area, with the appearance of better gaps to help the team threaten the opponent. He believes that the U23 Saudi Arabia team deserves to have a favorable result based on the developments on the field.
The next task of U23 Saudi Arabia is to defeat U23 Vietnam, even winning big with a 3-goal difference to be able to top the group. This is not easy when U23 Vietnam is playing very solidly, only conceding exactly 1 goal from the qualifying round to the final round.
In the history of the AFC U23 Championship, the last time U23 Vietnam met U23 Saudi Arabia was in the quarter-finals in 2022. At that time, U23 Vietnam lost 0-2.
The U23 Vietnam vs U23 Saudi Arabia match will take place at 11:30 PM on January 12.
