U23 Vietnam achieves unprecedented milestone with European Vietnamese diaspora

Following many instances of being excluded, Vietnamese diaspora midfielder Tran Thanh Trung has finally made his debut in a competition for U23 Vietnam.

On the morning of March 22, after a week of training, U23 Vietnam head coach Dinh Hong Vinh officially finalized the 25-player squad for U23 Vietnam to travel to China to participate in the CFA Team China 2026 Friendly Tournament. Among them are two Vietnamese diaspora players: Tran Thanh Trung and Vadim Nguyen.

This will be the first tournament for both of these Vietnamese diaspora players with U23 Vietnam. However, for Tran Thanh Trung, this tournament holds special significance as he had previously been repeatedly called up to U23 Vietnam but ultimately left disappointed after being excluded from the final roster.

Previously, midfielder Tran Thanh Trung was continuously called up but never once participated in any official tournament with U22/U23 Vietnam. Initially, this Vietnamese diaspora midfielder was summoned to U23 Vietnam for preparations for the U23 Asian qualifiers but was also cut when the list was trimmed.

Later, he was not included in the initial roster preparing for SEA Games 33; when Van Truong was injured, he was added as a supplementary call-up but was once again excluded when the final 23-player official list was confirmed. At the beginning of 2026, when U23 Vietnam participated in the 2026 U23 Asian Championship finals, Thanh Trung was also absent from the list.

Another Vietnamese diaspora name, Antonio Moric, has also concluded his trial period with U23 Vietnam and returned to U19 Vietnam according to the original plan. Previously, he was given the opportunity to train and assess his capabilities over a week. Thus, the U23 Vietnam national team will have two Vietnamese diaspora players participating in this tournament: Tran Thanh Trung and Vadim Nguyen.

At the CFA Team China – Xi'an 2026 tournament, U23 Vietnam will successively face U23 North Korea (25/3), U23 Thailand (28/3), and host U23 China (31/3). Head coach Dinh Hong Vinh stated that with the participation 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 to evaluate and refine the squad towards key objectives for Vietnamese football in the upcoming period.

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