Two overseas Vietnamese players officially join U23 Vietnam to compete against China and Thailand.

In the CFA Team China 2026 friendly tournament, the Vietnamese national team will include two overseas Vietnamese players, Tran Thanh Trung and Vadim Nguyen.

On the afternoon of March 22nd, the U23 Vietnam team officially departed for China to participate in the CFA Team China - Xi'an 2026 friendly tournament. In this year's competition, Coach Dinh Hong Vinh and his squad will face strong opponents such as host U23 China, U23 Thailand, and U23 North Korea.

Before departure, the Vietnamese strategist reduced the U23 Vietnam roster to 25 players, including two overseas Vietnamese players: Tran Thanh Trung (Ninh Binh) and Vadim Nguyen (SHB Da Nang). Notably, this is the first official tournament for both overseas Vietnamese players, and also the first time U23 Vietnam has two overseas Vietnamese players in an official competition.

For Tran Thanh Trung, he has been continuously called up but never participated in any official tournament with U22/U23 Vietnam before. Initially, this overseas Vietnamese midfielder was summoned to U23 Vietnam for Asian U23 qualifier preparation but was also cut when the roster was trimmed.

Later, he was not included in the initial list preparing for SEA Games 33; when Van Truong was injured, he was added as a supplementary call-up but was again excluded when the final 23-player official roster was confirmed. At the beginning of 2026, when U23 Vietnam participated in the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup finals, Thanh Trung was also not named.

After being excluded, Tran Thanh Trung impressed strongly while playing for Ninh Binh Club, consistently appearing and scoring for his home team.

Meanwhile, Vadim Nguyen was also called up during the third training camp in 2025 but still hasn't had an opportunity for official play. While wearing the jersey of the Song Han team, Vadim Nguyen hasn't had many chances to play. Being named in this U23 list will be an opportunity for the Russian-born overseas Vietnamese player to improve himself and continue seeking opportunities with Da Nang and the national team.