On May 30, the draw for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship took place in Indonesia. The group of U23 Vietnam is considered quite easy with opponents from neighboring countries Cambodia and Laos, while the remaining two groups are expected to be more competitive. Specifically, group A has the presence of host U23 Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei while group C includes U23 Thailand, Myanmar and Timor-Leste.
The 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will take place from July 15 to July 31, 2025 in Indonesia. In the group stage, 10 teams will compete in a round robin to calculate points. The 3 group winners and the 1 second-placed team with the best results will qualify for the semi-finals. A notable point is the way the results of the second-placed teams are considered. The second-placed team in Group A will not be counted against the bottom-placed team.
With the achievement of winning the regional tournament twice in a row in 2022 and 2023, the Vietnam U23 team is one of the candidates competing for the championship in this year's tournament. To prepare for the tournament, the Vietnam U22 team officially gathered with the Vietnam national team from May 29 at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center.
Along with the Southeast Asian U23 tournament, the young players are also aiming for other important tasks in 2025, including the 2026 Asian U23 Qualifiers in September and men's football at the 33rd SEA Games later this year.
At the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, the format is quite similar to the 33rd SEA Games. Because the 33rd SEA Games men's football will have 11 participating teams, divided into 3 groups: Group A with 3 teams, Group B and C with 4 teams each. The teams are seeded based on their achievements and hosting rights as follows: Group 1 includes Thailand (host team, code A1), Indonesia and Vietnam; Group 2 includes Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia; Group 3 includes Timor Leste, Philippines, Laos; Group 4 includes Singapore and Brunei. The teams compete in a round robin to calculate points, the three group winners and the second-placed team with the best achievements will advance to the semi-finals.
Therefore, the U23 Southeast tournament can be considered a preparation step for U23 Vietnam to aim for an important goal. According to expert Phan Anh Tu, the fact that U23 Vietnam is in the number 1 seed group is an advantage. This helps our chances of going further are higher.
In another development, the Vietnam U22 team continues to receive the opportunity to gather at the same time as the Vietnam national team during FIFA Days in June. The recent list of Vietnam U22 players includes 26 excellent young players from many domestic clubs, most of whom have accompanied the team in previous gatherings and have been tested through many international matches and tournaments.
Notable names include goalkeeper Hoa Xuan Tin, Cao Van Binh, defender Ho Van Cuong, Nguyen Duc Anh, midfielder Dinh Xuan Tien, Nguyen Van Truong, striker Nguyen Quoc Viet, Nguyen Thanh Nhan...
Notably, this gathering saw the first appearance of Vietnamese-American striker Bui Alex, who is playing for the Bohemians Praha 1905 B team in the Czech Republic's Third Division.
Mr. Phan Anh Tu also assessed that Song Lam Nghe An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai are teams that use many young players. The fact that they are in the group to avoid relegation makes the matches tense. This also helps the players to mature more.
Since 2024, U22 Vietnam has been synchronously trained with the national team during FIFA Days, participating in two international friendly tournaments U22 CFA Team China 2024 and 2025 with many quality opponents. In addition, potential young players have also been given the opportunity to compete, in which some excellent players have had the opportunity to test themselves at the national team level and make their mark at the ASEAN Cup 2024.
Under the guidance of coach Kim Sang-sik, hopefully, U22 Vietnam will enter the 33rd SEA Games with confidence.
Huynh Nhu talks about young players
Striker Huynh Nhu has joined the Vietnam women's team since May 28, 2025, after Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club completed its mission in the women's semi-finals of the 2024-2025 Southeast Asian Club Championship.
Commenting on the training atmosphere of the national women's team, Huynh Nhu said: "The team has been training for more than 3 weeks, the players are quite familiar with each other, so in the recent practice matches, the players have combined with each other to try their best in the competition. Currently, the national women's team is having a generational transition. After a while, Nhu personally sees that the young players have made quite a lot of progress, quickly forming a bond with the older players. The young players have also tried very hard, in the recent friendly match with Werder Bremen, Ngoc Minh Chuyen also scored. That is a good sign for Vietnamese women's football."
“Before each practice match, the coaching staff reminds the players to complete the target and not forget to maintain their health for the upcoming training session in Japan. After each practice match, the coaching staff holds a meeting to review the team's mistakes and take them as lessons,” Huynh Nhu added. When asked about the new recruit of the National Women's Team - player Nam Mi, Huynh Nhu also expressed her hope that Nam Mi will maintain her spirit of effort in training and try harder to contribute to the team as well as Vietnamese women's football. “Nam Mi is a player with good qualities and good physique. The National Women's Team is in need of players with such physique in all lines. In life, Nam Mi is also very cute and eager to learn. She has the advantage of speaking Vietnamese, so she can communicate with everyone and is loved,” Huynh Nhu shared.
HH
Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/bong-da-viet-nam-va-buoc-dem-cho-sea-games-33-i770129/
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