Korean Newspaper: 'Coach Kim Sang Sik's Miracle Continues, U23 Vietnam Aims for the U23 Asian Championship Final'

"The U23 Vietnam team, led by Coach Kim Sang-sik, secured a 3-2 win against UAE after a tense 120-minute match in the quarterfinals of the 2026 U23 Asian Championship held at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, thus advancing to the semifinals.

U23 Vietnam opened the scoring at the 39th minute of the first half with a goal by Nguyễn Lê Phát. However, just 3 minutes later, Ndiaye equalized for UAE. At the 17th minute of the second half, Nguyễn Đình Bắc scored to put Vietnam ahead once again.

But only 6 minutes later, Al Menhali scored the equalizer for UAE, forcing the match into extra time. In the 11th minute of the first extra period, Phạm Minh Phúc scored the decisive goal, securing U23 Vietnam's victory in this extended battle.

U23 Vietnam earned their spot in the quarterfinals with a perfect record of three wins in Group A. The team consecutively defeated Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, and host Saudi Arabia to easily pass the group stage, then continued by winning their first knockout round match, keeping hopes alive for reaching the final.

Coach Kim is crafting a success story with a streak of consecutive wins in every tournament he has participated in. Starting from the Southeast Asian Championship, to the U23 Southeast Asian Championship, and the Southeast Asian Games last December, he has claimed the championship each time. Now, he continues to create a sensation on the Asian stage.

Although this is a youth tournament, Vietnam’s FIFA ranking is only 107. Vietnam was considered inferior to Saudi Arabia (ranked 60), Jordan (64), Kyrgyzstan (104), all of whom they defeated in the group stage. UAE (68) also ranks significantly higher than Vietnam. However, U23 Vietnam is rapidly ascending to the top with a style of play that transcends rankings.

U23 Vietnam’s opponent in the semifinals will be either Uzbekistan or China. U23 Vietnam will compete for a place in the final against the winner of the quarterfinal match between these two teams," according to Sports Seoul’s match report.

According to Sports Seoul, U23 Vietnam convincingly defeated UAE, even though the match went into extra time. The Korean newspaper even suggests that U23 Vietnam is delivering a more impressive performance than U23 Japan at the 2026 U23 Asian Championship.

U23 Japan struggled to overcome U23 Jordan to secure their place in the semifinals.