From the glory of the U23 Asian Cup to the harsh test of V-League

The bronze medal at the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals brought high expectations for Vietnam's young football generation. However, upon returning to V-League, many faces like Dinh Bac and his teammates are facing the harsh reality of professional football, where the glory from youth tournaments does not guarantee long-term success.

The bronze medal at the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals once brought great pride to Vietnamese football. After the tournament in Saudi Arabia, many young talents of Vietnam's U23 team emerged into the spotlight with immense expectations from fans. However, when returning to the harsh grind of V-League, not everyone can easily maintain their form and status as they did when playing at the youth national team level.

Among the talents who gained fame after the tournament, Dinh Bac is the one facing the most pressure. The striker born in 2004 shone brilliantly at the U23 Asian Cup finals, winning the top scorer title with 4 goals and 2 assists, becoming the mainstay of Vietnam U23's attack. That impressive performance even led many to believe he could soon seek opportunities to play abroad.

However, V-League is a completely different story. After returning to wear the jersey of Hanoi Police Club, Dinh Bac quickly felt the harshness of professional football. The young striker endured a streak of 13 consecutive matches without scoring, equivalent to over 1,000 minutes of play without a goal. For a player in the striker position, that is a sufficiently long period for pressure to increase day by day.

Looking back at history, Dinh Bac's story is not uncommon. After the feat of being runners-up at the 2018 U23 Asian Cup in Changzhou, Vietnam's golden generation was expected to dominate the pitch for many years. However, reality shows that not all maintained their peak form.

Over time, only a few figures like Quang Hai, Doan Van Hau, Bui Tien Dung (center-back), or Duy Manh maintained stable positions. Many other players gradually stagnated due to injuries, declining form, or inability to overcome the increasingly fierce competition in professional football.

The Vietnam U23 generation that just won the bronze medal in Saudi Arabia is also entering a similar "filtering" phase. Besides Dinh Bac, many other young players are struggling upon returning to their clubs. Some have to accept substitute roles, while others are still struggling to regain their form.

Part of the reason stems from the V-League environment itself. This is a tournament spanning many months with a dense match schedule, where young players must face experienced defenders and quality foreign players. The skills that once helped them shine in youth tournaments sometimes are no longer sufficient to create advantages at a higher-level competition.

For Dinh Bac specifically, the challenge is even greater as he plays for Hanoi Police Club, a team boasting many attacking stars and quality foreign players. In such a fiercely competitive context, securing regular playing opportunities is already a crucial step forward for a young player.

Nevertheless, the harsh "filtering" process of V-League is not the end for young talents. Conversely, it is a necessary test for their maturation. Players who overcome this difficult phase will become more resilient and capable of becoming pillars in the future.

The glory from a youth tournament can arrive quickly, but maintaining elite status in top-level football is a long and challenging journey. For Dinh Bac and Vietnam's U23 generation, the path ahead remains wide open, provided they have enough patience and resilience to overcome the first trial-by-fire phase of their careers.