Overseas Vietnamese player Chung Nguyen Do has joined the U23 Vietnam squad.

The U23 Vietnam team along with head coach Kim Sang Sik have formally gathered in Phu Tho to get ready for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualification.

Coach Kim Sang Sik and his squad arrived in Viet Tri (Phu Tho) on the afternoon of August 29 to prepare for the competition in Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers. According to the schedule, the U23 Vietnam team will face U23 Bangladesh on September 3, U23 Singapore on September 6, and U23 Yemen on September 9.

The most notable player is overseas Vietnamese Chung Nguyen Do (Tran Thanh Trung), who has also arrived. The Ninh Binh club star showed a close bond with another overseas Vietnamese player, Viktor Le, and quickly befriended other teammates in the U23 Vietnam squad.

Tran Thanh Trung (Chung Nguyen Do), born in 2005 in Bulgaria to a Vietnamese family, holds dual citizenship of Vietnam and Bulgaria. He developed through the CSKA Sofia academy, has played professionally since 2013, and previously appeared for Slavia Sofia’s first team in the Bulgarian top league before joining Ninh Binh club in V.League 1 for the 2025/26 season.

Standing 1.75m tall and playing as a central midfielder, he appeared in 31 matches, scored 2 goals, and provided 1 assist during the 2024/25 season. With a playing style focused on control and defense, Thanh Trung ranked among the top 5 young players with the highest number of interceptions in European domestic leagues (excluding the top 5 leagues). He is also a familiar face in Bulgaria’s youth national teams, from U17 to U21, and was highly regarded by Barcelona scouts as a promising midfielder prospect in Europe.

During this training camp, U23 Vietnam embarks on its second major mission of 2025: the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, following their successful defense of the Southeast Asian U23 title. This also serves as an important preparation step toward SEA Games 33. Therefore, the call-up list retains the core squad from the recent regional tournament to maintain stability in both lineup and playing style.

However, on the first day of assembly, U23 Vietnam did not have the full squad present. Due to the rescheduling of the match between Viettel and Becamex TP HCM, three U23 Vietnam players from Viettel—Nguyen Cong Phuong, Khuat Van Khang, and Dang Tuan Phong—will join the camp later.