Nguyễn Đình Bắc (white) scoring the winning goal for Việt Nam in the 64th minute against Saudi Arabia in the match on Monday. Photo courtesy of the AFC

Anh Đức

JEDDAH — Việt Nam U23s have advanced to the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup quarterfinals, topping group A with a decisive 1-0 victory against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Monday.

The win ended Việt Nam's 11-match winless streak against Saudi Arabia at all levels of football and knocked out the Middle Eastern team, who is also the tournament host.

All the pre-match worries of a shocking exit despite winning the first two matches were quelled by superstar Nguyễn Đình Bắc's wonder strike in the second half.

Saudi Arabia came into the match needing at least a win to qualify but failed to score despite 26 attempts.

Việt Nam needed to lose by no more than four goals to qualify  but won the match, becoming the first Vietnamese team to finish a continental tournament group stage with three victories.

Kim Sang-sik slightly rotated his squad for the match late on Monday, starting Lê Viktor, Nguyễn Ngọc Mỹ and Nguyễn Công Phương up front, while Võ Anh Quân started as left-back in place of the injured Nguyễn Phi Hoàng, with a view to play a defensive game.

Luigi Di Blagio's men, desperately needing a win, went on the attack from the first minute. But Saudi Arabia, however, again lacked the composure in front of goal, a deadly disadvantage that led them to the last two disappointing matches.

The closest the men in dark green could reach Trần Trung Kiên's net was in the 44th minute, where Thamer Al-Khaibari's header hit the post, and rebounded back to Trung Kiên, who parried the ball away.

Đình Bắc and Nguyễn Lê Phát were brought on in the second half, and injected more life into Việt Nam's attacking game. Saudi Arabia however, still pushed on forward and posed immense dangers towards Trung Kiên's goal. The keeper pulled off three point-blank saves in the latter part of the match, leaving commentators shouting his name in awe and the Saudis holding their heads in disappointment.

And when the attack could not do the work, the Green Falcons' defence caved in. At the 64th minute, Ngọc Mỹ robbed the ball off a complacent Awad Dahal, and placed a through ball to Đình Bắc on the left side of the penalty area. From a perhaps impossible angle, Việt Nam's starlet pulled off a vicious left-footed strike towards Hamed Al-Shanqiti's net, opening the score for the Golden Star Warriors.

Bắc, whose meteoric rise started almost two years ago by scoring in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup match against Japan, celebrated with a salute reminiscent of Vietnamese football legend Nguyễn Hồng Sơn.

The task become greater for Saudi Arabia as needed two goals and had to push further up front, leaving gaps for Việt Nam to capitalise on a counterattack. Kim Sang-sik's men could have doubled the lead in the 79th minute, had Lê Phát scored after dancing through three Saudi defenders, only to be beaten by Al-Shanqiti at the last second.

As the match neared the end, Saudi Arabian legs were tired as the players knew elimination is coming. This led to a great tiki-taka play in the 96th minute, ending with a clear-cut chance by Nguyễn Thái Sơn. The shot however, was too tame and the match ended 1-0 to Việt Nam, cementing their entrance into the quarterfinals as Group A winners.

"Before we came to Saudi Arabia, I couldn't have thought that we could win all three group stage games," said manager Kim Sang-sik after the match. 

"But the players, they played for the greater good and improved themselves match after match to claim that result."

Kim's counterpart, Luigi Di Biagio expressed disappointment after a sad exit by the hosts.

"The players tried their best but what happened was heartbreaking," said Di Biagio. 

"It's embarrassing to pull off 26 shots towards goal but still lose the match, while Việt Nam scored on the first shot on target they made."

Việt Nam will play the quarterfinal match on Friday, against either the United Arab Emirates or Syria, with Kim Sang-sik's youngsters looking to extend their journey at the tournament. — VNS