Thai media: 'Vietnam delivers excellent performance at U23 Asia'

Thai media is impressed as Vietnam secures two consecutive wins in the group stage, significantly boosting their chances of reaching the AFC U23 Asian Cup quarter-finals.

While Indonesian media suggested Vietnam won only by luck, Thai sports newspaper Siam Sport offered a contrasting view. "An excellent performance against Kyrgyzstan has propelled Vietnam to the top of Group A with two straight victories," a report in the newspaper stated.

Midfielder Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong was fouled during Vietnam's victory over Kyrgyzstan in the second match of Group A at the AFC U23 Asian Cup finals, held at King Abdullah Sports City Hall, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 9/1. *Photo: AFC*

The match against Kyrgyzstan proved dramatic. Midfielder Khuat Van Khang opened the scoring for Vietnam with a penalty kick, but Marlen Murzakhmatov equalized for Kyrgyzstan with a long-range shot late in the first half. Vietnam secured the decisive goal in the 87th minute when forward Le Van Thuan's header deflected off defender Khristiyan Brauzman into the net. The Thai newspaper described this victory as "full of drama" for Vietnam.

Thai football fanpage Krian Buriram echoed similar sentiments after the match. "Vietnam is alone at the top of the table," the page posted on Facebook. "Vietnam is truly impressive, deserving of being number one in Southeast Asia."

However, the fanpage, which boasts over 189,000 followers, held a different opinion at half-time during the match on the evening of 9/1. At that point, the score was one-one, and Kyrgyzstan had created more scoring opportunities. "It seems Vietnam isn't very strong," the page wrote. "They only rely on long balls and set pieces, pumping them into the penalty area and hoping for chaos to seize scoring opportunities. If they play like this in the second half, Vietnam will surely be at risk of losing. Kyrgyzstan players are more skilled."

Key match developments.

This was not the first time Krian Buriram made an inaccurate assessment of Vietnam after the first half at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup finals. When Kim Sang-sik's squad led Jordan two-zero in their first Group A match, the fanpage also predicted Vietnam would suffer a two-three comeback defeat, similar to Thailand's loss in the SEA Games 33 final.

Despite winning two matches, Vietnam has not yet guaranteed progression to the next stage. In their final group match, coach Kim's team must avoid losing to Saudi Arabia three-zero, or by a margin of four goals or more, to advance to the quarter-finals.

Thailand's situation in Group D is considerably more challenging, having lost one-two to Australia in their opening match. Coach Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul's team will face Iraq on 11/1. A defeat in this match would put Thailand at risk of early elimination from the tournament.