The first opponent of U23 Vietnam arrives in Viet Tri

At noon on August 30th, the U23 Bangladesh team reached Phu Tho to get ready for the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifying matches. They are the first international side in the 2026 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers to come to Vietnam.

Before arriving in Vietnam, this South Asian U23 team had to take a connecting flight through Bangkok, Thailand. Because of this, the Bangladesh players appeared somewhat tired. However, this fatigue was quickly lifted by the warm welcome they received from Phu Tho province.

The Bangladesh squad for this year's qualifiers attracted attention with the inclusion of Cuban-born striker Mitchell, who has triple heritage from England, Jamaica, and Bangladesh, and has played for youth teams in England such as Birmingham and Sunderland.

To prepare for the matches in Group C (the group of U23 Vietnam) of the 2025 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, the U23 Bangladesh team had a 12-day training camp in Bahrain.

There, Bangladesh played two friendly matches against the host nation's U23 team and lost both games consecutively. Specifically, after a narrow 1-0 defeat in the first match, Coach Saiful Bari Titu's team showed strong determination in the second game. They scored twice to take the lead thanks to forward Mirajul Islam.

Bangladesh held a 2-1 advantage before the end of the first half, but defensive mistakes in the second half cost them dearly. Bahrain scored three more goals to seal a 4-2 victory.

U23 Bangladesh will also be U23 Vietnam’s first opponent in Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers. The match between the two teams is scheduled for 7:00 PM on September 3rd.

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