Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is not satisfied with the U23 Vietnam players.

"In this match, I am only satisfied with the result," Mr. Tuan said at a press conference after the victory over Kuwait on April 17. "The opponent was nothing special. The problem is that my players did not play as well as they should have."

According to the coach from Khanh Hoa, his players were mentally unstable and could not perform at their best in the first half, causing the match to develop in a difficult direction. He emphasized the red card of center back Hoang Ngoc Thang, saying that this should not have happened.

At Janoub Stadium (Doha) yesterday, Vietnam started off shakily, continuously making bad passes. The duo Khuat Van Khang and Nguyen Van Tung also had a lack of coordination, kicking each other in the leg when they had a chance to score in the 15th minute in the Kuwait penalty area.

In the 29th minute, Vietnam had an extra man when Ebrahim was red-carded for stepping on Van Khang's thigh. About 15 minutes later, the team also converted the numerical advantage into an opening goal thanks to Van Tung's flick when facing goalkeeper Ali Marzouq. However, that joy only lasted for more than a minute. In a poor defensive situation, Ngoc Thang deliberately hugged Abdul Karam in the penalty area, receiving a red card and forcing the home team to concede a penalty. From there, Al Awadi scored the equalizer 1-1.

In the second half, luck was on Vietnam's side. In the 48th minute, goalkeeper Ali Marzouq held the ball around, allowing Vi Hao to steal it and score, raising the score to 2-1. In the 76th minute, Vi Hao shot diagonally, but the Kuwaiti goalkeeper chose a bad position, dived slowly and conceded the third goal.

Vietnam will meet Malaysia in the second leg on April 20. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan refused to answer the question of what preparations he has made for this match because he was afraid that his tactics would be revealed. "The first thing I want to tell the players is to forget this victory. The whole team needs to prepare mentally and spiritually for the next match. That is a decisive match for Vietnam's chances of reaching the quarterfinals," said Mr. Tuan.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan was appointed as the head coach of Vietnam U23 on April 4, replacing Philippe Troussier, who had to rest due to the team's two consecutive losses to Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Mr. Tuan said that because he had only worked with the team for ten days, he could not make any immediate changes. He would let the players compete and make adjustments, and hoped that they would change more clearly in the near future.

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The AFC U23 Championship takes place in Qatar from April 15 to May 3, with 16 teams divided into four groups. Vietnam is in Group D with Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Kuwait. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, where they will play a knockout match. The two finalists and the winner of the third-place match will go straight to the men's Olympic football tournament, while the fourth-placed team will compete against African representative Guinea.