Historical achievement series
Coach Kim Sang-sik has created an unprecedented record in the history of Vietnamese football when he and the U22/U23 generation went through 4 consecutive official tournaments without losing, winning all 14 matches, reaching a 100% rate.
U23 Vietnam scored a total of 26 goals and only conceded 6 times, numbers that show the balance between effective attack and solid defense. Notably, these 14 wins are also the longest winning streak in the history of Vietnamese football in all national team levels.
The two major titles that U22/U23 Vietnam won are the U23 Southeast Asian Championship 2025 and the SEA Games 33 Gold Medal. At the U23 Southeast Asian Championship (July 2025), U23 Vietnam successively defeated Laos (3-0), Cambodia (2-1), Philippines (2-1) before defeating host Indonesia 1-0 in the final. Effective play and bravery helped the team maintain stability throughout the tournament.
By the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers (September 2025), U23 Vietnam continued to show certainty when they won all 3 matches against Bangladesh (2-0), Yemen (1-0) and Singapore (1-0), convincingly winning tickets to the final round. The next peak was SEA Games 33 (September 2025), where coach Kim Sang-sik's team defeated Laos (2-1), Malaysia (2-0), Philippines (2-0) and made an impressive comeback against Thailand with a score of 3-2 in an emotional final to win the Gold Medal.
In the early days of the new year 2026, at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals, U23 Vietnam continued to create a historical milestone when they first passed the group stage with a total victory of 3 matches, winning all 9 points. The victories against U23 Jordan (2-0), U23 Kyrgyzstan (2-1) and especially the host team U23 Saudi Arabia (1-0) showed a breakthrough in bravery and competitiveness. This is also the first time U23 Vietnam has defeated the host in a U23 Asian Championship final, and directly, causing U23 Saudi Arabia to be eliminated right from the group stage.
Compared to previous participations, the progress of U23 Vietnam is very clear. From 4 points in 2018, 2 points in 2020, 5 points in 2022, 6 points in 2024, U23 Vietnam has risen to win 9 absolute points in this year's tournament. These numbers not only reflect the results, but also show maturity in competitive psychology, a factor that was once a weakness of Vietnamese youth football when facing strong opponents in the continent.
Long-term preparation
The success of U23 Vietnam did not come by chance, but is the result of a methodical and long-term preparation process according to the orientation of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the team's coaching staff. In the past 2 years, U22/U23 Vietnam has been facilitated to train regularly both domestically and internationally, participating in many international tournaments to accumulate competition experience.
Notably, the Vietnamese youth team continuously participates in quality friendly tournaments in China, where they face top continental opponents such as: China, Uzbekistan or South Korea... This is a high-intensity playing environment, helping players get used to the pressure and speed of top Asian football early.
During the periods when coach Kim Sang-sik was busy working with the national team, assistant - acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh - who was highly appreciated for his expertise - took on the role of leading, ensuring the continuity of coaching philosophy and operating the playing style. Mr. Vinh was also commented as "good at" with the Vietnamese youth teams.
In the professional plan built by VFF, U22/U23 Vietnam underwent many important training sessions such as the CFA Team China friendly tournament (March 2025), a training trip to the UAE with two matches against U22 Qatar, or participating in the Panda Cup 2025 in China. These "tournaments" not only help players train physical strength and tactics but also improve their ability to adapt to many different football styles, from technique, speed to strength and tactical discipline.
Most recently, before the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals, the team continued to train in Qatar and had a friendly match with U23 Syria. This is considered an important stepping stone to help the coaching staff review forces, adjust tactics...
