Defeating Cambodia, U23 Vietnam meets Philippines in the Southeast Asian tournament semi-finals
In the final match of Group B of the U23 Southeast Asian Championship on the evening of July 22 at Bung Karno Stadium, U23 Vietnam won 2-1 against U23 Cambodia. With this result, Coach Kim Sang Sik's team won the right to enter the semi-finals of the tournament as the top team of Group B. In the next round, U23 Vietnam will face U23 Philippines.
U23 Vietnam struggled to defeat U23 Cambodia (Photo: VFF).
Commenting on U23 Vietnam’s entry into the semi-finals, Bola (Indonesia) wrote: “U23 Cambodia had a shocking moment when they equalized the score 1-1 against U23 Vietnam. However, U23 Vietnam showed a formidable weapon in this tournament, which is aerial combat situations.
In the 83rd minute, Dinh Bac shook his head dangerously to score the goal that sealed the score 2-1 for U23 Vietnam. Before that, in the first half, Ly Duc also had a header to open the score. With the top position in Group B, U23 Vietnam advanced to the semi-finals to face U23 Philippines.
Superball newspaper said that U23 Vietnam had a very difficult victory over U23 Cambodia. This newspaper commented: “U23 Vietnam controlled the ball and dominated, but they could not put much pressure on U23 Cambodia’s defense. U23 Vietnam players made too many wrong passes, making them unable to attack coherently.
Meanwhile, the Cambodian U23 players actively committed many fouls to prevent the attacks of the Vietnamese U23. In that situation, the Vietnamese U23 could only break the deadlock with a header from Ly Duc after a free kick from Khuat Van Khang.
Even in the second half, U23 Cambodia scored an equalizer after Rado Mon's close-range header.
Super Ball newspaper said that U23 Vietnam's playing style was not convincing (Photo: VFF).
In fact, U23 Vietnam only needed a draw to qualify for the semi-finals, but they were not satisfied with this result. Finally, the defending champions' efforts were rewarded with a goal in the 83rd minute by Dinh Bac.
Vietnam U23 deserved to enter the semi-finals after winning both matches against Laos U23 and Cambodia U23. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team will face Philippines U23 in the next round.
Siam Sport (Thailand) commented: "It seemed like U23 Cambodia could hold U23 Vietnam to a draw, but Dinh Bac shone with a beautiful header to help the "Golden Dragons" win narrowly with a score of 2-1.
Thus, U23 Vietnam has won the top spot in Group B to enter the semi-finals. They will face the Philippines in the next round. Meanwhile, U23 Cambodia stopped in the group stage.
The Southeast Asian Football Federation’s homepage has an article: “Vietnam U23 champions advance to the semi-finals”. The author wrote: “Vietnam U23 dominated Cambodia U23 but only really took the lead in the final moments of the match after Dinh Bac scored the decisive goal to make it 2-1. Good aerial ability helped coach Kim Sang Sik’s team win when both of their goals were scored with their heads”.
According to the schedule, U23 Vietnam will play the semi-final match of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament with U23 Philippines at 4:00 p.m. on July 25.
Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-dong-nam-a-binh-luan-khi-u23-viet-nam-lot-vao-ban-ket-20250723002142727.htm
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