U23 Vietnam will gather again to prepare for the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers, taking place at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho) from August 30. This is the second important tournament of the year for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team, after successfully defending the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship.
In the list of 24 players called up, the presence of Tran Thanh Trung attracted a lot of attention. The player born in 2005 in Bulgaria in a Vietnamese family has just entered the top 3 best young players in Bulgaria in the 2024-2025 season.
Thanh Trung truong came from CSKA Sofia training center, used to play for Slavia Sofia before returning to play for Ninh Binh club in V.League 2025-2026.
In the last season, the 1m75 tall midfielder played 31 matches, scored 2 goals and had 1 assist. With a playing style that focuses on controlling and supporting defense, he is also in the group of 5 young players with the most interceptions in European national championships outside the top 5 tournaments.
Before choosing to wear the U23 Vietnam shirt, Thanh Trung was a familiar face in the Bulgarian youth teams and was highly appreciated by Barcelona players for his development potential.
In Group C of the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers, U23 Vietnam will meet U23 Bangladesh (3.9), U23 Singapore (6.9) and U23 Yemen (9.9). The organizers said that tickets for the matches will be sold exclusively online on the OneU application, with 3 denominations of 100,000 VND, 200,000 VND and 300,000 VND, divided into three opening sales from August 25 to September 5.
With a key force with a lot of experience from the regional championship, along with the addition of promising young faces, U23 Vietnam is expected to continue to bring fans exciting matches in the continental qualifiers.
