The Vietnam U23 team is well-prepared for the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

Coach Kim Sang Sik’s team is confidently targeting the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, backed by meticulous and well-organized preparations.

As previously reported, in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, Vietnam’s U23 team is placed in Group A alongside hosts Saudi Arabia, U23 Jordan, and U23 Kyrgyzstan. This group is highly competitive, but with the Vietnam Football Federation’s careful and strategic investment and preparation, the U23 team can be fully confident in their capabilities.

According to assessments, each of Vietnam’s three opponents has unique strengths. Saudi Arabia, in particular, not only enjoys home advantage but also won the tournament in 2022, making them one of the top favorites for the championship.

U23 Jordan previously secured third place in 2013 and reached the quarterfinals twice in 2016 and 2020, while U23 Kyrgyzstan, despite making their debut in the finals, has shown significant progress with technical play and qualified as group winners in the qualifiers. This means Vietnam’s U23 team will face considerable challenges.

However, with six consecutive appearances in the finals and being seeded in pot 2 for the 2026 tournament, Vietnam’s U23 team has solid grounds to be confident in their competitiveness. Notably, the Vietnam Football Federation has proactively started preparations early.

Accordingly, besides adjusting the schedule of national professional leagues to align with the team’s activities, the core group of U22 players has been given opportunities by the Vietnam Football Federation to train, concentrate, and compete internationally from late 2024, which has played a crucial role in helping the team win the Southeast Asian U23 Championship for the third consecutive time, while building essential experience for the two key goals: the 33rd SEA Games later this year and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship early next year.

Importantly, during the critical upcoming preparation phase, the Vietnam Football Federation has collaborated with the Qatar Football Association under the football development cooperation memorandum signed and implemented since 2023, enabling Vietnam’s U23 team to play two high-quality friendlies against U23 Qatar during their training camp in the UAE in October 2025.

Then, in November 2025, the team will participate in an international tournament in China under another cooperation memorandum directly signed by the presidents of both federations in August 2025. This tournament is expected to feature U23 China, U23 Vietnam, and two other strong U23 teams from the continent, promising an important opportunity for Coach Kim Sang Sik’s squad to continue refining tactics, perfecting the lineup, and gaining experience ahead of major upcoming goals.