*This content was translated by AI.
Kim Sang-sik (50), who wrote the history of Vietnamese soccer, left a bold impression. It is the first time in history that the South Korean national under-23 (U-23) national soccer team lost to Vietnam's U-23.
Vietnam's U-23 national team, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, beat South Korea (2-2, PSO 7-6) after a penalty shootout in the third place match of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 24th (Korea time).
It is a humiliation of Korean soccer. This is the first time in 10 games (6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss) that the U-23 national team has lost to Vietnam.
After the game, Vietnamese media "VN" reported Kim Sang-sik's press conference in detail, highlighting the Vietnamese team's fighting spirit and the coach's mercenary skills. According to reports, head coach Kim Sang-sik said, "Our players played really bravely."
Head coach Kim Sang-sik then said, "Both teams played in a state of physical and mental exhaustion," adding, "The most impressive thing is that our players maintained amazing concentration and calmness even in the most difficult moments. In particular, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the players for keeping the tie until the end of overtime and showing their fighting spirit to the penalty shootout despite the numerical inferiority of playing with 10 players."
The watershed of the match was the exit variable that occurred at the end of the second half. Vietnam's key striker Nguyen Dinh Park (Hanoi FC) received a red card for a rough tackle, and Vietnam was in a desperate crisis. In response, head coach Kim Sang-sik said, "Dean Park scored a goal and performed well, but he was replaced early because he made a mistake, perhaps due to excessive excitement. It was a really difficult moment for the whole team," he recalled.
However, manager Kim Sang-sik's Vietnam was not shaken. Manager Kim Sang-sik said, "I haven't lost faith in the players. Even if we played as 10 players, we believed that our players had the courage to fight without giving up until the end, he said. "We had a similar situation in the last game where we got a red card for Rieduckie." In this situation, we have no choice but to focus on defensive tactics. The players have overcome themselves," he explained.
Even Kim Sang-sik was confident that the experience of this tournament would be the future asset of Vietnamese soccer. "The experience of overcoming adversity and winning at an important moment without being shaken under such pressure is an invaluable asset for young players," he said. "I'm sure the players will improve greatly through this game." This became a valuable opportunity for players to grow steadily, he stressed.
In addition, head coach Kim Sang-sik said, "I am grateful to the fans for supporting the Vietnamese U-23 national team both inside and outside the stadium. In particular, I would like to thank Nguyen Hieu Min, who was unable to play in this game due to injury, he added, "This victory is a valuable reward for the unity, will, and trust in each other that the Vietnamese national team has shown."
While Vietnam cheered, Korea wrote a history of humiliation. Lee Min-sung suffered the humiliation of losing his first match against Vietnam after struggling throughout this tournament.
I was nervous from the group stage. Lee Min-sung barely reached the quarterfinals after losing to Uzbekistan, two years younger, and in the semifinals, he lost to Japan, who also played for the U-21 national team, and dedicated the final third place match to Vietnam.
The game was even more shocking. South Korea was dragged away in the 30th minute by conceding the first goal to Vietnam's counterattack. Kim Tae-won, who was substituted in the second half, scored an equalizer, but in just two minutes, Dean Park allowed a free-kick to lose the lead again. Despite having a numerical advantage with Dean Park's exit in the 40th minute of the second half, South Korea did not show an overwhelming performance. In the second half extra time, Shin Min-ha's dramatic equalizer led the game to extra time, but in the end, he failed to break through Vietnam's latch defense, where 10 people fought.
South Korea's offense was lethargic even with one more in favor throughout the first half of the extra 30 minutes. In the end, South Korea's seventh kicker Bae Hyun-seo's shot in the penalty shootout was blocked. The Vietnamese kicker succeeded and the nearly three-hour bloody battle ended in a crushing defeat for South Korea.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
