Football 

HÀ NỘI — The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) believes Việt Nam are among the favourites to lift the AFC U23 Asian Cup, which will begin next week in Saudi Arabia.

The continental governing body posted a video of the team’s training session on its fanpage with a caption in Vietnamese: 'U23 Việt Nam & Vòng chung kết #AFCU23! Không đùa được đâu! (Việt Nam U23 & Asian Cup Finals #AFCU23! This is no joke!).'

The post is seen as recognition from the AFC and a warning to rivals at the finals about Việt Nam, who secured their place by winning Group C in the qualifying campaign.

In Jeddah, Việt Nam will open their campaign in search of a first-ever AFC U23 Asian Cup title against Jordan at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium before facing Kyrgyz Republic and Saudi Arabia in Group A and will be optimistic of claiming one of the two quarter-final spots.

Runners-up in 2018, Việt Nam reached the last eight in 2024 and are competing in their sixth finals, while Jordan’s best finish was third place in 2013. The sides have met twice before, with the West Asian outfit winning 3-1 in 2016 and drawing 0-0 in 2020. A constant presence at the continental showpiece, the closest Việt Nam have come to lifting the trophy was in 2018, when they lost to Uzbekistan in the final.

Việt Nam will take confidence from a sterling qualifying campaign that saw them finish top of their group without conceding a goal. Their ticket to the finals was sealed with wins over Bangladesh (2-0), Singapore (1-0) and Yemen (10-0).

Central to their challenge will be combative midfielder Khuất Văn Khang, who has already established himself as a mainstay at senior level.

The 21-year-old has made 37 appearances and scored four goals for the U23 side and has also featured prominently for the senior national team, finding the net once in 22 appearances.

Khang said the build-up to Saudi Arabia followed what he described as a successful year, highlighted by the SEA Games title, which he called a strong source of motivation as the team turn their focus to a new challenge.

“Prior to Saudi Arabia, my team and I have had a successful year. It was rounded off with victory at the SEA Games championship. That success filled us with confidence and provided extra motivation ahead of the new tournament," said Khang.

The captain said the finals would also mark a first taste of top-level competition for several new faces in the squad, recalling his own debut three years ago and stressing the opportunity the tournament presents.

“In these finals, I have many new teammates who will compete for the first time. I see myself in them when I made my debut three years ago. This high-level tournament will definitely be a special opportunity for each of us to show our ability," he said.

Khang cautioned that recent success would not remove the challenges ahead, pointing to the demands of travel, climate and diet as factors the team must overcome to perform at their best.

"Recent success has lifted us but we still face challenges such as time zone differences, weather conditions and nutrition regimes in a different country. We need time to adjust and adapt well to ensure our best performance next week," said the captain.

Looking ahead to his final appearance at this level, Khang said he had set his sights high after Việt Nam reached the quarter-finals two years ago.

"Personally, this is my third and final time at the U23 Finals. I have set the highest target and will try my best to go as far as possible in this tournament. Two years ago, we reached the quarter-finals. This time, we will do better."

The championship will kick off on January 6 and conclude on January 24. — VNS