Coach Kim Sang Sik 'targets' Vietnamese-American player Tran Thanh Trung

If nothing changes, after round 3 of V-League 2025 - 2026, Tran Thanh Trung will join the Vietnam U23 team to prepare for the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.

Coach Kim Sang Sik showed interest in Tran Thanh Trung after watching this Vietnamese-American player play in the match between Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa on August 23 in round 2.

That was the second consecutive time Tran Thanh Trung played in the V-League from the bench. Both times, even though he only played a few minutes at the end of each match, he played well as a defensive midfielder and helped Ninh Binh win. Therefore, Mr. Kim really wanted to try Thanh Trung in the upcoming short training session. The defensive midfielder position has always been very important to the national teams.

Tran Thanh Trung, born in 2005, is a Vietnamese-American player who grew up in Bulgaria and has Vietnamese nationality. He won a starting position in the Bulgarian national championship and played for the country's youth teams before returning to Vietnam this summer.

Thanh Trung is valued at more than 12 billion VND, the most expensive among the U23 players playing in the V-League, but has only played 2 matches and still needs more time to prove his ability.

The list of players called up to U23 Vietnam is being finalized by coach Kim Sang Sik and will be officially announced in a few days.

Among them, the group of players who won the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will almost all be present. The main frame of U23 Vietnam includes goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, defenders Nguyen Hieu Minh, Nguyen Nhat Minh, Pham Ly Duc, Vo Anh Quan, midfielder Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Cong Phuong, Nguyen Xuan Bac, Nguyen Van Truong, striker Viktor Le, Nguyen Dinh Bac or Nguyen Quoc Viet are all familiar names.

The preliminary list of U23 Vietnam also has the return of striker Nguyen Thanh Nhan, who missed the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament due to injury, has recovered and is playing in the V-League with PVF-CAND Club.

After round 3 of V-League (ending on August 29), U23 Vietnam will gather and only have about 4 days to prepare for the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers. U23 Vietnam is the host of group C, will meet U23 Bangladesh, U23 Singapore and U23 Yemen on September 3, 6 and 9 at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ).