Asiad 2026: Vietnam U23 and an Audit Named Future

On August twelfth, at the training center of the Vietnam Football Federation, I sat in the last row of the auxiliary stand and counted. Twenty-three faces. Sixteen of them I had seen at the July gathering. That number appeared in no press release. No one spoke about it. But as I wrote the list into my worn-spined notebook, a question surfaced: is stability in personnel enough to turn a milestone into reality, or only enough to prolong an old habit?

I did not write immediately after the session. I waited until the team left the pitch, until the tactics board still held arrows that had not yet been erased, and until the heat of the Hanoi afternoon had settled enough for me to hear the ball bounce on the artificial turf. The pitch does not lie — but people do. Sixteen out of twenty-three is an honest number. What it means is another matter.

Context: one target, one generation, one changed plan

The VFF has set a target of reaching the quarterfinals at Asiad 2026. This is a milestone entirely within reach for Vietnam U23, given the current squad. In other words, it is not a distant goal set up so that failure can be excused. It is a measurable, verifiable milestone — and therefore, one that can be judged.

Of the twenty-three players, sixteen names featured in the July gathering. That shared working period creates a certain stability, from operating patterns to mutual understanding between positions. The seven other faces compared to the most recent gathering — Ly Duc, Quang Kiet, Pham Minh Phuc, Le Phat, Ngoc My — are not new players either. They have been in the system for a while, simply absent from the latest call-up.

Most of the twenty-three players at Asiad have one or two seasons of V-League football behind them, alongside youth-level experience, or more recently the AFC U23 Championship. Therefore, entering Asiad, the red-shirted team remains among the most experienced squads.

Vietnam U23 sharing a group with Uzbekistan, Kuwait, and the Philippines is certainly not easy. Uzbekistan is the most formidable opponent, but the chance to compete for the top two spots remains open. If they make good use of matches against Kuwait and the Philippines, coach Dinh Hong Vinh's students can fully secure a quarterfinal ticket. They could even think about matching the achievements of their predecessors — reaching the semifinals or even winning a medal.

But the quarterfinal is not the final destination. Where Vietnam U23 goes at Asiad 2026 remains to be answered by reality. One thing is certain: the continent's largest multi-sport event is being used by coach Kim Sang Sik as another audit of the U23 generation that won bronze at the AFC U23 Championship earlier this year. That is also why the VFF and coach Kim Sang Sik changed their plan, from the U21 team to a near-strongest squad — a decision with meaning beyond a single tournament.

Core: reading the squad list like a data table

I spent three evenings cross-checking these twenty-three players against four sources: the July gathering list, V-League match records from last season, player profiles on the VFF system, and my own notes from the AFC U23 Championship earlier this year. The result revealed something few mention: this is not a random collection of the best names, but a squad built on operational logic.

Sixteen of the twenty-three players have played together for more than three weeks. That is a tactical asset money cannot buy.

Look at how this number operates. In modern football, especially at youth level, shared working time creates two things: first, synchronization in transitions, and second, the ability to self-correct without the coach shouting from the touchline. When sixteen players have spent three weeks together, they begin to understand each other at what I call the collective reflex level: a defender knows which way a midfielder will turn before the ball arrives, a striker knows when a teammate will play the through ball instead of pushing wide. These things do not show up in traditional statistics — and that is precisely the problem with traditional statistics.

Many will ask me: is this stability enough to face Uzbekistan? The honest answer is: not enough, but it is a necessary condition. Uzbekistan is a football nation that has invested in youth for a long time, with a continuous development system and a clear playing philosophy. Against them, Vietnam U23 cannot win on inspiration. We can only compete through structure. And structure only works when people understand each other.

Look closer. Of the seven new faces compared to the most recent gathering, most already have V-League experience. Ly Duc, Quang Kiet, Pham Minh Phuc, Le Phat, Ngoc My — these are not names walking out of a youth academy without tasting pressure. They have played matches with crowds, with points at stake, with the stress of relegation battles or continental cup qualification races. That experience differs from youth national team experience. In the V-League, a mistake can cost the team points in front of tens of thousands. At Asiad, it is the same — only the pressure is greater.

One issue I have analyzed in previous articles: heat maps and modern metrics like xG are becoming a new kind of fortune-telling if readers do not understand context. With this Vietnam U23 generation, what matters is not total successful passes, but successful passes in transition — when the team switches from defense to attack within five seconds. This is what I call the "rhythm index," and it depends directly on the level of understanding between positions. Sixteen of twenty-three players have worked together — that is the foundation for this rhythm index to reach an acceptable level.

There is one small detail I recorded during training. In a defensive coordination drill, coach Dinh Hong Vinh stopped to adjust a young defender's position. The player nodded, but before the coach finished speaking, another player tapped his shoulder and said something very short. The defender immediately moved into the correct position. I did not record the content of that sentence because it does not matter. What matters is that it existed. When players teach each other, that is a sign of a collective that has passed the getting-acquainted stage.

Cross-checking sources: what I found after verification

I spent a day comparing information from three independent sources. First, from the Vietnam Football Federation, I had the official list of twenty-three players. Second, from V-League match records last season, I had each player's actual minutes. Third, from my own notes at the AFC U23 Championship earlier this year, I had assessments of each face's form and ability to handle pressure.

When these three sources matched, I dared to assert something. And what I dare to assert now is: this is the near-strongest squad Vietnam U23 can call up at present, and the VFF has accepted abandoning the old plan to go in this direction.

The change from the U21 team to a near-strongest squad carries meaning beyond a single tournament. It is a strategic statement. It says Asiad 2026 is not a playground for experimentation, but an audit. And if it is an audit, there must be criteria. The criterion here, as I understand it, is: which player can perform at national team level in the next two to three years?

Concretely, coach Kim Sang Sik has certainly made calculations for the future of the Vietnam national team, after the 2027 Asian Cup. Naturally, the current Vietnam U23 players are in that plan. And to have a chance, U23 players must put themselves in the Korean strategist's line of sight through performances against quality opponents at this Asiad.

This is the point I want to emphasize, because it is often misunderstood. Fans usually see Asiad as a tournament of its own — win and be happy, lose and be sad. But as someone who follows the team, I see another layer of meaning. Asiad 2026 is one of the rare windows where the national team head coach can directly observe young players in a high-pressure environment, against strong football nations, without risking experiments in official national team matches.

Of course, Asiad is only one of many audits for Vietnam U23 players, because alongside it is consistent performance in the V-League or the First Division, whose new season has just kicked off. This is what I always remind my readers: one tournament does not decide a player's career. But a series of tournaments, combined with club form, can. Data only keeps the rhythm — emotion is the singer. But without rhythm, the singer cannot sing either.

A counterintuitive angle: the worry is not the group

There is a popular view I consider misleading. It is: Vietnam U23's group at Asiad 2026 is the toughest, and if they get through it, they will go far. This view is not entirely wrong, but it places the emphasis in the wrong place.

Vietnam U23's problem is not facing Uzbekistan. The problem is facing the very matches the team is expected to win.

I have lived with the team to understand why they lose. And over many seasons, I noticed a pattern: young Vietnamese teams tend to play well when underestimated, and underperform when rated above their opponents. The matches against Kuwait and the Philippines are ones where Vietnam U23 is expected to take points. These are exactly the kind of matches where the team often struggles most. Not because the opponent is strong, but because of psychology.

Against Uzbekistan, the team will play as underdogs — free, comfortable, with nothing to lose. Against Kuwait and the Philippines, they will play as favorites — with the responsibility to win, to control the ball, to attack. And this is where the tactical system is tested. The ability to organize attacks when opponents sit deep is a chronic weakness of young Vietnamese football for many years. Having sixteen players who have played together helps in transitions, but it does not solve the problem of being stuck in attack against a packed defense.

That is the blind spot few mention. People worry about Uzbekistan. I worry about Kuwait and the Philippines.

A second counterintuitive angle: the future does not come from Asiad

Another misunderstanding needs pointing out. Many see Asiad as a "golden key" lifting young players to the national team. This is only partly true.

It can be seen that Asiad is not a ticket to step immediately onto the national team, but is regarded as a key for Vietnam U23 to prove their ability to coach Kim Sang Sik as well as club coaches. Only by gradually earning a starting spot in the V-League does the door to the Vietnam national team open wider.

This is the point I want readers to remember, because it runs counter to how the media usually writes. Media tends to turn a big tournament into a career turning point. But in the reality I have observed over many years, a young Vietnamese player's career turning point rarely comes from an international tournament. It comes from a V-League season in which that player starts twenty matches, contributes directly to the club's results, and matures through each round.

Asiad can open a door. But the V-League holds the key. Every contract is a promise with an expiry date — and for young players, that expiry comes faster than people think. A twenty-three-year-old who plays well at Asiad but has no starting spot at his club will struggle more than a twenty-three-year-old who performs consistently in the V-League but does not shine at continental level. This is something coaches understand, though they rarely say it.

What I want to see at this Asiad

In my notebook, there is a page dedicated to Asiad 2026. There, I did not write about the quarterfinal target. I wrote three questions I want answered.

First, how will Vietnam U23 organize their attack when opponents sit deep? This is a question about the system, not individuals. If the team answers with wing combinations, plays into the gaps between opposing defenders and midfielders, that is a sign of real progress.

Second, how will the team react when going behind? In the past, young Vietnamese teams often lost structure when conceding. If sixteen players who have played together truly understand each other, they will maintain rhythm and find an equalizer through the system, rather than through desperate individual plays.

Third, who will step up in decisive moments? Youth football needs a spiritual leader. Not a star, but a player who can remind teammates to hold position when everything is in chaos. Among the twenty-three names, I believe a few have the right qualities. But quality and action are different things.

What I do not want to hear, and what I want to see

I do not want to hear promises before the ball rolls. In my profession, I have heard too many promises. People say they will play beautifully, will give their all, will fight to the end. Those sentences have no data value. The pitch does not lie — but people do. And I always remember that whenever I write.

What I want to see are concrete traces. A defender holding the right position in the second half when tired. A midfielder accepting a sideways pass instead of trying a risky through ball when the team is one goal up. A striker pressing in the ninetieth minute just as in the first. These are measurable. And they say more than any statement.

An empty season, but the stone bench still has a depression where someone sat. I always remember that image when evaluating a team. The physical traces left after each session, after each match, tell a story that statistics can never grasp. At Asiad 2026, I will look for those traces — in how players move without the ball, in how they exchange glances, in how they get up after a collision.

A progressive thought

The quarterfinal target at Asiad 2026 may or may not be achieved. That is a result, not an essence. What interests me more is the question behind that result: after this Asiad, how many of the twenty-three players will have starting spots at their clubs? How many will be called up to the national team by coach Kim Sang Sik within two years? And how many will keep improving, rather than stopping after one tournament?

That is the real measure. Not one quarterfinal, but one generation of players. Vietnam U23 has the foundation for that: sixteen players who have played together, seven additions all with V-League experience, and a coach searching for future elements. These three conditions rarely coexist. If not utilized, that will be a waste — and in football, wasting a generation is the most expensive mistake.

Commas placed in the wrong spot can turn a sentence into a full stop. Asiad 2026, with the current squad, should not be a full stop. It should be a comma placed in the right spot — opening the next part of a much longer story.