The AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 third-place match on late January 23 (Vietnam time) concluded with a victory for Vietnam, whose players overcame the Republic of Korea (RoK) in a nerve-wracking shootout.

Vietnamese players celebrate the opener by Nguyen Quoc Viet (No. 9) at the third-place match against the RoK in the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026.

The RoK entered the match with a nearly full-strength squad. Their roster stability made them the heavy favourites, particularly given the head-to-head history between the two sides.

In four previous encounters at official tournaments, Vietnam’s U23 team had never tasted victory, suffering three defeats—a statistic that provided a significant psychological edge to the Koreans.

However, fuelled by confidence and a resilient spirit, Vietnam took the initiative from the opening whistle. Their proactive ball control paid off in the 30th minute when Nguyen Quoc Viet found the back of the net to give the “golden star warriors” an early lead.

After failing to find an equaliser in the first half, Koreans leveraged their physical and technical superiority to mount immense pressure on goalkeeper Cao Van Binh's goal. Their persistence paid off in the 69th minute when Tae-won restored parity with a clinical strike.

However, just two minutes later, Nguyen Dinh Bac fired home a stunning free-kick to put Vietnam back in front, 2-1.

The game took a dramatic turn in the 86th minute when Dinh Bac was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Chan-ouk, leaving Vietnam with 10 men for the closing stages.

Exploiting the numerical advantage, the RoK poured forward in a desperate search for another equaliser, creating numerous scoring opportunities. In the final seconds of stoppage time, their relentless pressure finally told as Min-ha struck a dramatic 97th-minute leveller to make it 2-2.

The two extra-time periods saw a near-total dominance by Korean players. However, Vietnam displayed remarkable resilience to maintain the draw and force the match into a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.

Ultimately, Vietnam’s U23 squad clinched a 7-6 victory over their Korean opponents.

Following the triumph, despite the biting cold, legions of fans poured into the streets across Hanoi and elsewhere to celebrate a proud achievement for Vietnamese football on the continental stage.

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