Nguyễn Đình Bắc celebrating his wonderful free kick that scored Việt Nam's second goal in the third place match against South Korea on Friday. — Photos courtesy of the AFC

Anh Đức

JEDDAH — The journey for Việt Nam U23 in the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup ended on a happy note, with a victory on penalties against South Korea in the bronze medal match on Friday.

Contrary to normal beliefs that the third-place decider match would be dull and boring, both teams created for spectators perhaps the best third-place match ever in Asian football's recent history.

Việt Nam went ahead through Nguyễn Quốc Việt in the first half, before Kim Tae-won equalised in the second half. The men in red replied immediately with a wonderful free kick from Nguyễn Đình Bắc, who was sent off late in the match, and South Korea equalised again with seconds to go through Shin Min-ha, bringing the match to extra time with the score at 2-2. Việt Nam stayed strong in extra time to bring the match to the penalty shootout, where they won 7-6.

Nine changes were made by coach Kim Sang-sik compared to the 0-3 loss against China in the semifinals. The most notable change is the first appearance of goalkeeper Cao Văn Bình, who replaces Trần Trung Kiên between the posts.

Fans and pundits expressed worries before the match that Việt Nam without their two main centre-backs, and with their key talisman up front Đình Bắc playing through an injury would be overwhelmed, but the Golden Star Warriors defied those worries.

Việt Nam's defensive approach to the match were correct this time around, which led to a more confident mentality for the players. The plays in attack and the transition were much smoother, and the defence was well organised and disciplined. South Korea, despite having more than two-thirds of possession in the first half, could only find opportunities through long-range shots.

The men in red surprisingly went ahead in the 30th minute, despite being under pressure for most of the first half. From a counter attack on the left, the long ball reached Đình Bắc on the left, who sprinted inside the box and found the pass to Quốc Việt. From an improbable tight angle, Việt fired a first-time shot that went to the top of Hwang Jae-yun's net to open the score for Việt Nam.

The players celebrating Quốc Việt's opening goal by signalling the number four, as a tribute to Việt Nam's No.4 Nguyễn Hiểu Minh, who suffered a devastating injury in the semifinals.

Six minutes later, South Korea seemingly got a lifeline after Đình Bắc was perceived to have committed a high boot on a South Korean attacker inside the penalty area, and the referee pointed directly to the spot. VAR intervened and the decision was reversed, after replays showed that Bắc was aware and pulled in his legs before it hit the opposition player, thus not committing a foul.

South Korea brought on three players at the start of the second half hoping to find the equaliser, then brought on two more before the half-hour mark. One of the substitutes, Kim Tae-won, made an impact in the 68th minute with a great dribble and shot near the penalty area, and equalised for South Korea.

Việt Nam's mentality did not collapse after the equaliser, and shouts of 'Chơi tiếp đi!' (Play on!) were heard loud between the players in the stadium. And it is because of that bravado that they found a reply just three minutes later, in a poetic fashion.

Those who remember the famous 'Miracle of Changzhou' would know the free kick by Nguyễn Quang Hải in the final that sent the nation into a frenzy just eight years ago. And the hands of fate have made it so that the moment can be repeated in the wildest of ways in the match at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium.

From Nguyễn Thái Quốc Cường's dribble near the penalty area, the midfielder drew a foul that won his team a dangerous free kick. Cường, coincidentally, is the cousin of Nguyễn Công Phượng, who won Hải's freekick eight years ago in the final. From an eerily similar distance to Hải's 'rainbow in the snow' goal, Đình Bắc fired a shot that went through the wall into the bottom corner of Hwang's net, granting Việt Nam the 2-1 lead. The goal propelled the Vietnamese striker's tally this tournament to four goals, the same number of goals that Quang Hải scored in the 2018 tournament.

The pressure by Lee Min-sung's team piled on towards Việt Nam in the remaining minutes of the game, which forced the players to go the extra mile, and do everything they can to protect the slim lead. In one such occasion, the hero Đình Bắc went a bit too far and received a direct red card after a challenge on the shins of Lee Chan-wook in the 86th minute.

With enormous advantages on their side, South Korea continued to place crosses inside the box aiming for the tall strikers upfront. Việt Nam stayed strong with ten men on the field, and almost could have ended the tie in regulation time. But with about thirty seconds to go, the Taeguk Warriors found the equaliser, when a long ball found Shin Min-ha, who placed a shot towards Cao Văn Bình's bottom corner to bring the match to extra time.

Min-ha could have brought South Korea in front in the first period of extra time, but Bình was at the right place and time to caught the centre-back's header. The keeper and his teammates stayed strong during extra time, and the match has to go to penalties to decide the bronze medal winner.

The first six penalty takers of both teams successfully converted, until Cao Văn Bình became Việt Nam's hero and saved the penalty from Bae Hyun-seo. Bae went for the lower left corner but Bình guessed correctly and parried away the shot.

Cao Văn Bình saving Bae Hyun-seo's penalty.

Việt Nam's seventh kicker, Nguyễn Thanh Nhàn, the player who won the 33rd SEA Games gold medal with an extra time goal, brought home the U23 Asian Cup bronze medal with a confident penalty kick that left Hwang no chance.

With this result, Việt Nam is still the top performing ASEAN team in the history of the competition, with a silver medal in 2018 and a bronze medal in 2026 to their name. The victory also marked Việt Nam U23's first ever win against South Korea U23.

Nguyễn Đình Bắc and his teammates, despite not making it all the way to the final as their predecessors, created a memorable journey on their own that signalled the rise of Vietnamese football in continental tournaments. A Việt Nam team that can have the skills, the resilience and the mentality to go head-to-head against the top teams in the region is perhaps a team that fans could look on and have high hopes for upcoming results. — VNS