HOT: Exceptional Vietnamese-Spanish player accompanies U19 Vietnam to Indonesia.

For the U19 Vietnam team traveling to Indonesia in preparation for the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 Championship, the appearance of Vietnamese-Spanish player Khoi Truong is a highlight that supporters are especially keen on.

On the morning of May 28, the U19 Vietnam team departed for Indonesia to participate in the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship with a squad of 25 players. Coach Yutaka Ikeuchi and his team left Ho Chi Minh City at 9:50 AM, transiting through Jakarta before continuing to Medan, the host city of this year's tournament. The entire team is expected to arrive in Indonesia on the evening of the same day after a long journey due to limited flight options.

To ensure the players' fitness, the Vietnam Football Federation arranged for the entire team to travel from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on May 27. The coaching staff also organized a light training session to maintain movement feel and minimize the effects of the long travel. However, what most caught the attention of experts was the final trimmed squad before departure, which featured a Vietnamese diaspora player.

After cutting the squad from 29 to 25 players, coach Yutaka Ikeuchi retained Khoi Truong, a Spanish-born Vietnamese player who belongs to the youth team of Huesca. This is seen as a special detail for U19 Vietnam in this tournament, as the coaching staff has revealed almost no information about his skills or role during the training camps in Vietnam and Japan.

The core of U19 Vietnam remains the group of players born in 2008 who previously played for U17 Vietnam at the U17 Asian Cup under coach Cristiano Roland. Names such as Le Huy Viet Anh, Le Tan Dung, Nguyen Sy Manh Dung, Hoang Trong Duy Khang, and Hoang Cong Hau continue to be included and are expected to form a stable framework for the young Vietnamese team in the regional competition.

Given that U19 Vietnam is without many prominent players such as Nguyen Le Phat, Tran Gia Bao, or Dinh Quang Kiet due to their V-League commitments, the appearance of Khoi Truong becomes even more of a focal point. This Vietnamese overseas player is seen as a potential game-changer, especially when U19 Vietnam needs more disruptive elements to compete against strong opponents in the group stage.

According to tournament regulations, coach Yutaka Ikeuchi will further cut two players to finalize a 23-man squad before the opening match. The 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship takes place from June 1 to June 14, with U19 Vietnam in Group A alongside hosts Indonesia, Timor Leste, and Myanmar. With many promising young faces and the unknown quantity Khoi Truong, the red-shirted team is poised to create a big surprise in Indonesia.