U23 Vietnam is no longer an unknown, waiting for the rising star
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team participated in 5/6 U23 Asian finals when this tournament first took place in 2013. U23 Vietnam is no longer an unknown factor to any opponent and to go far, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team need to demonstrate their true abilities instead of relying on luck.
The U23 Vietnam squad for the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals is said to have the youngest players in the tournament. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's players have an average age of 20 or 21. There are 10 players aged 21 or younger in the list of 23 names revealed by AFC.
Among them, many have worn the national team jersey and have been through many battles. From goalkeepers Van Viet, Van Chuan to Van Khang, Van Cuong, Thai Son, Nguyen Dinh Bac, Van Tung…, all are considered to have a lot of international competition experience.
Vietnamese football history has recorded young players who were only 19 years old and already owned the Vietnam Golden Ball such as Cong Vinh and Van Quyen. The record holder who received 4 Vietnam Golden Balls, Pham Thanh Luong, also had this title for the first time at the age of 21, followed by Quang Hai after the feat of bringing U23 Vietnam to second place in the 2018 U23 Asian Cup finals.
Quang Hai can inspire his juniors in the current U23 Vietnam team to dare to dream and conquer the peaks of their football career. This journey to Qatar is an excellent opportunity for coach Hoang Anh Tuan's students to explore their own limits.
Before shining in the U23 Vietnam team, Quang Hai was also a student of coach Hoang Anh Tuan in the campaign to win a ticket to the U20 World Cup. The players in the current U23 Vietnam team are also very familiar with the coach from Khanh Hoa, having accompanied him through international tournaments in the region and continent from the U17, U19, U20 and U23 national levels.
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's cool hand signals a good start for the young players, who are expected to shine for Vietnamese football in the near future.
In fact, a series of players such as Van Khang, Dinh Bac, Van Tung, Van Toan, Van Viet, Van Truong… have all been tested on the national team level. They may not have reached the heights that their senior Quang Hai has achieved, but the opportunity to shine is very much in their hands.
In particular, with the names just mentioned, they are always ready to make a big mark in their careers after a very long time of investment and care. Compared to the generation of players introduced by coach Hoang Anh Tuan at the 2017 U20 World Cup such as Van Hau, Hoang Duc, Tien Linh..., Van Khang, Van Tung in the current U23 Vietnam team receive care that is no less than that of their seniors.
Even during the period when coach Troussier led the Vietnamese teams for a whole year, he was willing to "burn the stage" to invest in young students to massively join the team.
That is the basis for the journey to Qatar this year, the students of coach Hoang Anh Tuan will promote their best. The history of the U23 Asian arena has marked a series of big names of Vietnamese football, from 2016 to present.
The names that are the pillars of the current team such as Bui Tien Dung, Viet Anh, Van Thanh, Van Hau, Thanh Binh, Quang Hai... all had their abilities tested from the U23 Asia finals.
And as mentioned, in the playground where the name U23 Vietnam is too familiar with 5/6 consecutive participations, opponents will have considerable respect for coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team this year.
U23 Vietnam needs to make maximum effort to create their own luck. The challenge is also an opportunity for the stars to prove that they are ready to become great players in football.
