January 21, 2026 | 14:28 (GMT+7)
AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026: Vietnam to face RoK in third-place play-off
U23 Vietnam will face U23 Republic of Korea (RoK) in the third-place playoff of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup, following a 0-3 defeat to U23 China in the semifinals at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Saudi Arabia on January 20.
U23 Vietnam played solidly, and created a few notable moments from set pieces in the first half.
The first half ended goalless.
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At the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 China (Photo: AFC) |
China U23 raised the tempo after the restart and took the lead early in the second half. In the 47th minute, Peng Xiao headed home from a corner to open the scoring. Minutes later, Xiang Yuwang capitalized on a marking error to make it 2-0.
Vietnam’s situation worsened in the 75th minute when Ly Duc was shown a straight red card, leaving his team a man down.
Despite late efforts to respond, Vietnam U23 were unable to score. In 90+8 minutes, Wang Yudong finished from close range to seal a 3-0 victory for China U23.
With the result, U23 Vietnam will face U23 RoK in the third-place play-off at 10:00 p.m. on January 23.
The final of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 will be a showdown between U23 Japan and U23 China U23, set to take place at 10:00 p.m. on January 24.
Source: VNA