European Vietnamese prodigy makes historic mark with Vietnam U23

For the first time in his career, overseas Vietnamese Tran Thanh Trung officially played in a match for Vietnam U23.

Vietnam U23 head coach Dinh Hong Vinh finalized the list of 25 players traveling to China for the CFA Team China 2026 friendly tournament. Notably, this squad includes two overseas Vietnamese players: Tran Thanh Trung and Vadim Nguyen.

Notably, Tran Thanh Trung started as a main player right from the beginning in Vietnam U23's opening match against North Korea U23. After much anticipation, this overseas Vietnamese midfielder officially played in a match for Vietnam U23, while another overseas Vietnamese player, Vadim Nguyen, remained on the bench.

This will be the first time both overseas Vietnamese players participate in a tournament with Vietnam U23. For Tran Thanh Trung, this tournament holds special significance as he had been called up multiple times before but missed out on the final list each time.

This midfielder had participated in the training camp for the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers but was cut when the team downsized. Later, although not initially named for the 33rd SEA Games squad, he was added as a replacement when Van Truong was injured, yet again failed to stay in the final 23-player list. By early 2026, when Vietnam U23 competed in the AFC U23 Asian Cup finals, Thanh Trung was still absent.

On the other hand, another overseas Vietnamese player, Antonio Moric, concluded his trial period with Vietnam U23 and returned to the U19 team as originally planned, after a week of training and assessment. Thus, in the squad for the CFA Team China 2026 tournament, Vietnam U23 will have two overseas Vietnamese players: Tran Thanh Trung and Vadim Nguyen.

At the CFA Team China – Xi'an 2026 tournament, Vietnam U23 will successively face North Korea U23 (25/3), Thailand U23 (28/3), and host China U23 (31/3). Coach Dinh Hong Vinh stated that with the presence of high-quality opponents, this tournament is considered a valuable opportunity for young players to accumulate international match experience, while also helping the coaching staff continue evaluating and refining the team towards key objectives of Vietnamese football in the coming period.

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