U23 Vietnam: Breakthrough in physique and aerial ball tactics
Kim Sang-sik's Vietnam U23 team has a record height: Trung Kien is 1.91m, Quang Kiet is 1.96m; 8 high balls helped them win the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and will continue to be used in the 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers.
Vietnam U23 under coach Kim Sang-sik is redefining its playing identity with its physical advantage and direct approach. A team with many players over 1.8m, notably Tran Trung Kien at 1.91m and Dinh Quang Kiet at 1.96m, has converted that advantage into goals: 8 goals from high balls at the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship, then continued to develop in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.
Record height and location distribution
The change did not come by accident. The U23 Vietnam team was carefully selected from youth academies and benefited from an improved nutrition regime. Kim Sang-sik used the right players in the right positions: "towers" covering the vertical axis and the penalty area, creating a foundation for a style of play that focused on competition, strength and handling under pressure.
| Location | High number of players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | 3 |
| Center back | 4 |
| Forward | 2 |
In areas that require rhythm, thinking and dexterity such as central midfielder and full-back, he still trusts agile and creative faces such as Nguyen Thai Son and Khuat Van Khang. The balance between physical and technical makes the squad more balanced.
Two air combat fulcrums
- Tran Trung Kien: 1.91m
- Dinh Quang Kiet: 1.96m
The vertical height helps U23 Vietnam defend the border of the penalty area and create weight in dead ball situations. In the context of having to compete with physically strong opponents in Asia such as Japan, Korea, Australia, this platform reduces the inherent disadvantage in aerial combat and one-on-one disputes.
High balls and set pieces are weapons
Vietnam U23 won the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship with 8 goals, all from aerial combat. Kim Sang-sik affirmed that he and his colleagues carefully studied many corner kick and indirect free kick organization options to maximize the height advantage, and continued to successfully apply them in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.
- Crosser: Phi Hoang, Van Khang
- Air combat destinations: Dinh Bac, Hieu Minh, Van Truong
Combination plays are designed to create priority finishing channels: shifting the drop zone to the far post, pressing in the 5m50 area, or occupying space behind the defense when the opponent defends the area. These are tactical details that fit the current personnel structure.
Direct play and the Asian competitive threshold
In modern football, a defense with many center-backs under 1.8m will find it difficult to maintain performance without superior experience in reading situations. Kim Sang-sik's choice is to lay the foundation with big players to deploy a muscular, direct style of play. When height is guaranteed, individual skills and tactics have room to flourish in transitions and high-intensity handling.
Impact and prospects
Vietnamese football had been successful with aerial attacks at the 30th and 31st SEA Games. With the current squad, U23 Vietnam possesses a complete set of tools to recreate that glorious period: accurate crosses, reliable destinations, and polished set pieces. When the physical and tactical components are in sync, the efficiency of scoring goals from high balls will continue to be a launching pad for ambitions to go further at the continental level.