Talented men aged 22
The age of 22 is regulated in the men’s soccer content of the 33rd SEA Games in 2025. Therefore, it is very important for players in this age group to have a chance to compete regularly in domestic tournaments to achieve their goal. Vietnamese football’s goal of winning the SEA Games gold medal.
Coach Kim Sang-sik currently owns quite a strong force of players in the 22-year-old age group
In the V-League, strikers aged 22 who are performing well include Bui Vi Hao (Binh Duong), Nguyen Dinh Bac (Hanoi Police Club). Midfielders in this age group include Nguyen Thai Son (Thanh Hoa), Nguyen Van Truong (Hanoi FC), Khuat Van Khang (The Cong Viettel), Nguyen Phi Hoang (SHB Da Nang). Defenders Le Nguyen Hoang, Ho Van Cuong (SLNA), Nguyen Manh Hung (The Cong Viettel), Ha Chau Phi (Thanh Hoa), Nguyen Nhat Minh (Hai Phong). As for the goalkeeper position, Tran Trung Kien (HAGL) is the most prominent face.
Among these, Vi Hao, Khuat Van Khang, Thai Son, and Trung Kien have occupied key positions in the team they are playing for. Dinh Bac is not yet a mainstay at the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN), but he is often used by coach Mano Polking as a breakthrough solution for the former V-League champion team. Nguyen Manh Hung and Le Nguyen Hoang increasingly play important roles in the Viettel and SLNA The Cong teams.
Bui Vi Hao (right) – the main force of U.22 Vietnam
Photo: Ngoc Linh
In the first division, strikers Nguyen Quoc Viet (Ninh Binh), Tran Ngoc Son, Nguyen Thanh Nhan (PVF-CAND), Bui Van Binh (Ba Ria-Vung Tau) play increasingly important roles. Midfielders Nguyen Duc Viet (Ninh Binh), Nguyen Duc Phu (PVF-CAND) are becoming more and more mature each time in the team they are joining.
Also in the first division, there are notable defenders in the 22-year-old age group such as Nguyen Bao Long and Nguyen Hieu Minh (PVF-CAND). Goalkeeper Doan Huy Hoang (Bac Ninh) is also a player playing in the first division.
In terms of potential, the faces just mentioned are highly appreciated. What is even more important for young players is that the more they play, the faster they will improve. In this regard, the V-League and first-class teams are conscious of using young players, with increasingly higher density.
Former coach of the U.23 Vietnam team, Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan commented: “Except for a very few clubs in the V-League that use many foreign players, due to the pressure to compete for achievements and to strain on the field. In many different arenas, most of the teams in the domestic tournament are creating maximum opportunities for domestic soldiers and young players to compete. From now until SEA Games 33 takes place, there are still a few Dozens more matches, in the V-League, first division tournament and the National Cup, young players will thus be mature, experienced and brave enough to compete for the SEA Games championship.”
