Vietnam U23 and the challenge of overcoming themselves: From Changzhou to home-soil nights

Thong Nhat Stadium, 9:47 PM. The final whistle echoed, but no one moved. In the stands, a group of supporters remained standing, singing the traditional anthem even though the home team had just lost 1-2 to a lower-ranked opponent. I stood in the mixed zone, watching the players walk past. No one said a word to each other. But there was a detail the television cameras didn't capture: the opposing captain walked back, patted each young home player on the shoulder before entering the tunnel. That was the moment I realized — this defeat wasn't in the scoreline. It was in something the scoreboard could never reflect: the mental state of a collective questioning whether they were on the right path. The context of this match lies within a series of 5 international friendlies for Vietnam U23 in 2026, preparing for the Asian U23 qualifiers. That day's opponent was Bahrain U23 — a team ranked 94th in the world, 24 places below Vietnam. Vietnam U23's ball possession reached 63%, with 412 successful passes compared to the opponent's 287. But the score was 1-2. In football, possession never automatically converts into victory. Following Vietnam U23's matches over the past 3 years, I've noticed a recurring pattern: the team plays well when respected by opponents, but struggles when pressed. In the Bahrain match, our young players executed most tactical principles correctly — high pressing, quick ball circulation in the middle third, wide pushes to create space. But in the final third, everything fell apart. The final combinations lacked decisiveness — a problem that cannot be solved through training drills. Statistics show Vietnam U23 only managed 3 shots on target in 90 minutes, despite 14 attempts. The chance conversion rate was just 7.1% — significantly lower than the 12-15% average of Southeast Asian teams in the same group. But the most concerning number lies elsewhere: the timing of the conceded goals. Both goals came after the 75th minute, when the opponent increased physical intensity and shifted to a more direct style. This suggests the problem isn't about reading the game, but about declining concentration — a psychological factor more than a physical one. Before they are players, they are human beings; before scoring goals, they must overcome themselves. Vietnamese youth football is at a special transitional stage. The generation that created the Changzhou miracle of 2026 has matured and largely moved up to the national team. The next generation — born 2026-2026 — carries enormous expectations they never created. They are compared to Quang Hai, Cong Phuong, Van Duc before they've even had a chance to establish themselves. In a conversation after a training session at the PVF youth academy, one young player — I won't name him — told me: "We're not afraid of opponents. We're afraid of disappointing the fans." That sentence haunted me for weeks. Because it reveals a harsh truth: the pressure of expectation has become the biggest opponent for this generation — not Bahrain, not Thailand, not any other team. Tactical analysis of this match reveals a deeper issue about operational philosophy. Vietnam U23's head coach in 2026 is Kim Sang-sik, who inherited Park Hang-seo's legacy but brings a completely different philosophy. While Park Hang-seo built the play on defensive solidity and maximizing set-piece situations, Kim Sang-sik wants the team to control the game more proactively — high pressing, building from the back, constant ball circulation. In theory, this is progress. But in practice, this transition requires time and — more importantly — a uniform technical foundation that not every young player possesses. Data from VangBong.vn shows that in Vietnam U23's last 6 matches, the team's expected goals (xG) averaged 1.4 — lower than the 1.8 of the Changzhou generation at the same preparation stage. But the more important metric lies in chance quality: shots from inside the box accounted for only 38% of total shots, compared to 52% for the region's top teams. This shows the team controls possession but doesn't control dangerous space — a tactical issue that needs solving before the Asian qualifiers begin. There's a common misunderstanding from the outside that Vietnam U23 is falling behind itself. Social media comments are full of phrases like "this generation isn't as good as the previous one" or "Vietnamese youth football is regressing." But these judgments ignore an important context: the Changzhou 2026 generation was the product of a rare golden era — players born 2026-2026 who were systematically trained from childhood and shared a special bond. The current generation — born 2026-2026 — was heavily affected by two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly reduced their international match experience. They lack exposure to different football cultures — something the older generation gained through continuous tournaments from 2026 to 2026. People laugh at the first article, but no one can laugh at the match it tells. During a training session at the Hanoi youth football center, I witnessed a small but meaningful detail. After completing a group combination drill, Coach Kim Sang-sik kept three wingers behind for individual instruction on positioning when a teammate holds the ball in the central channel. He used a tactical board to detail each movement line, repeating three times with three different players. The session ended 25 minutes later than scheduled. No one complained. But I noticed something: the Korean coach is trying to build something more sustainable than just winning a match — he's building a thinking system. The field has no spectators, but I can still hear the heartbeat of an entire collective. The biggest challenge for Vietnam U23 isn't tactical, isn't individual technique — it's how to make young players believe that process matters more than immediate results. In a football culture where fans — and media — often look only at the scoreline, building a generation with enough mental resilience to overcome defeats like the Bahrain match is no small challenge. I remember the moment in Changzhou 2026 — not the winning moment, but the moment after Vietnam U23 lost to Uzbekistan in extra time. The players collapsed on the pitch, exhausted and crying. But what I remember most is Coach Park Hang-seo walking onto the field, lifting each player up, and saying something to them. I couldn't hear the words, but I saw the players gradually straighten up, wipe their tears, and begin walking around the pitch to thank the supporters. That was the moment I understood: football isn't just about winning. It's about how a collective faces defeat. The current U23 generation is facing their own defeat — not a specific loss, but the failure to meet expectations they never created. And the question is: can they turn that pressure into motivation, like the older generation did in Changzhou? Data from Vietnam U23's training sessions in March 2026 shows a positive signal: the team's high-intensity runs increased by 12% compared to January, and the completion rate of tactical drills according to coaching staff requirements reached 87% — up 9% from two months earlier. These numbers don't predict match results, but they show something important: this collective still believes in the process. But there's a blind spot I want to point out — one rarely mentioned by the media. In Vietnam U23's tactical sessions, I noticed the drills primarily focus on in-possession situations — pressing, circulation, attacking combinations. Defensive deep-block drills — the situations the team faces when trailing and the opponent deliberately cedes possession — are almost absent. This is a serious tactical gap, because in real competition, Southeast Asian teams often choose defensive counter-attacking football when facing Vietnam. If Vietnam U23 doesn't have a Plan B — no script for falling behind — then matches like the Bahrain game will repeat. The regular season is a time that tests everyone's patience — players, coaching staff, and fans alike. But I believe, looking at the development trajectory of Vietnamese youth football over the past 10 years, we are in a better position than what the scoreboard reflects. This generation has technique, tactical thinking, and most importantly — the hunger to prove themselves. What they need isn't criticism, but time and patience. There are defeats that don't lie in the scoreline, but in their eyes as they leave the pitch. I write from there. That evening at Thong Nhat Stadium, after the match ended, I lingered in the corridor leading to the parking lot. A young Vietnam U23 player — I won't name him — walked past and stopped. He looked at me, as if wanting to say something. Then he simply said: "Sister, we will get better." Not "we will win" — but "we will get better." That was the answer to everything I was wondering about this generation. A contract is just paper; the story behind it is what brings a player home. And for Vietnam U23, the story behind these friendly defeats could become the foundation for real victories — victories not measured by the scoreline, but by the growth of a collective learning to overcome itself. Ahead of them lies the Asian U23 qualifiers in September 2026, followed by the Asian U23 Finals in January 2026. The road is long. But if they hold onto the spirit of "we will get better" — if they turn process into belief instead of just looking at results — then this U23 generation could write their own story. Every season is a piece of music; I am just the beat keeper for stories waiting to be told. And this U23 generation's story — though unfinished — is beginning to be written with promising notes.