Opening the year, Vietnam U22s, coached by Nguyen Quoc Tuan, participated in the 2019 AFF U22 Championship in Cambodia. In the tournament, the Vietnamese squad were unbeaten in the group stage with two wins and one draw. However, they succumbed to a 0-1 defeat against Indonesia in the semifinals before beating hosts Cambodia to claim third place overall.
A month later, defending runners-up Vietnam U23s kick-off their campaign in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers at Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium. With a home-field advantage, Park Hang-seo’s troops clinched consecutive victories to wrap up the qualification tournament invincible with four straight wins. Notably, their 4-0 triumph against Thailand U23s was the widest-margin of victory a Vietnamese team has displayed against the Thai side in history.
Next, Vietnam U23s continued to seal two wins and one draw in their friendly matches ahead of their 30th SEA Games campaign. In particular, Park’s side brilliantly dismantled China 2-0 on their own turf, resulting in the sacking of Guss Hiddink as the China coach shortly afterwards.
Entering the campaign to conquer the long-awaited SEA Games gold medal in the Philippines, Vietnam U22s put together four successive wins before being held by Thailand U22s in their last group-stage match. From there, Park Hang-seo’s troops went on to defeat Cambodia U22s in the semifinals and then Indonesia U22s in the final in convincing fashion to bring home their first-ever championship title at the SEA Games arena since national reunification.
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