Vietnamese football news 22/1: Vietnam U23 team receives bad news from Hieu Minh, Chairman Duc offers a 3 billion VND reward.
Central defender Nguyen Hieu Minh has officially ended his season due to a ligament injury, while Chairman Duc announced a large bonus to boost the morale of the Vietnam U23 team.
Vietnamese football has witnessed significant personnel and morale changes in the U23 national team over the past 24 hours following their defeat in the semi-finals of the 2026 U23 Asian Championship. With a key defender sidelined for an extended period, efforts to boost team morale are intensified ahead of the third-place match.
Nguyen Hieu Minh suffers ligament tear, out for the rest of the season.
The Vietnamese U23 defense has suffered a major blow as center-back Nguyen Hieu Minh has been confirmed to have sustained a serious injury. Following a collision that forced him to leave the field early in the match against China U23, in-depth diagnosis from the medical team revealed that he has torn his anterior cruciate ligament.
With this injury, Hieu Minh will have to undergo surgery as soon as possible. The recovery process is expected to last from 6 to 9 months. This means the central defender will definitely miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season, a major loss for both his club and the national teams at all levels.
Chairman Duc offers a 3 billion VND reward for the third-place match.
To boost the morale of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team after the disappointing loss, businessman Doan Nguyen Duc has decided to offer a total reward of 3 billion VND if the Vietnam U23 team defeats South Korea U23 to win the bronze medal.
Specifically, the prize money is divided into two parts: 2 billion VND for the entire team if they win. The remaining 1 billion VND will be divided equally among 5 players from the HAGL and Nutifood training academies (200 million VND each), including: Tran Trung Kien, Pham Ly Duc, Nguyen Hieu Minh, Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong, and Nguyen Quoc Viet. This is considered an important psychological boost to help the entire team focus on their ultimate goal in the tournament.
Pham Ly Duc faces a three-match suspension.
Besides losing Hieu Minh to injury, the Vietnam U23 team is also concerned about Pham Ly Duc. The central defender is facing disciplinary action from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after receiving a direct red card in the semi-final match.
Based on Article 48 of the AFC's Disciplinary and Ethics Code, the penalty will be determined based on the nature of the offense. If the offense is deemed serious, Li De could be banned for up to 3 matches, instead of the minimum 1 match for typical professional fouls.
The identities of the referees for the third-place match have been revealed.
The AFC has officially announced the refereeing team for the match between Vietnam U23 and South Korea U23. The main referee will be Abdullah Jamali from Kuwait. Notably, Alexander George King – who recently officiated Vietnam's semi-final match – will continue to be involved, but this time as the fourth official.
Reactions from the Chinese U23 team after the victory.
After securing their place in the final with a 3-0 victory, the Chinese U23 team shared some insights into their tactical secrets. Defender Liu Haofan suggested that the Vietnamese U23 team failed due to overconfidence and underestimating their opponents.
Meanwhile, coach Antonio Puche revealed that he had kept his tactics secret from his own players until just before the match. The starting lineup, with six changes, was only announced when the team was preparing to warm up at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, completely surprising the opponent.
