At the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament, the Vietnam U23 team is in Group B with Laos U23 and Cambodia U23. This is the group in which coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are considered the strongest. The goal of Vietnam U23 is to defend the championship, so from now on, we need to consider the opponents we may meet in the next rounds.
Coach Ha Hyeokjun of Laos U23 frankly admitted that his team was rated lower than U23 Vietnam and U23 Cambodia in all aspects. However, U23 Laos still came to the tournament with the determination to learn, improve themselves and create surprises. "We have players who have played for both the national team and U23. The goal is to improve individual ability, ready for the future. Hopefully this tournament will be a good foundation for Laos to develop and prepare for upcoming important tournaments such as the U23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games", coach Ha Hyeokjun shared.
In the opening match of Group B, U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia shared the points with a score of 1-1. Meanwhile, U23 Vietnam had time to observe the opponent to prepare for the confrontation. Mr. Kim Sang-sik can completely think about calculating the personnel for the opening match.
However, the opening match is always important, U23 Vietnam needs a convincing victory to aim for the long-term goal. The players all expressed high determination.
Defender Pham Ly Duc shared: “The spirit of the team is very good. Everyone is determined in every training session. The coaching staff always reminds everyone to take care of their health and ensure the best physical condition before entering the tournament. The first day of arriving in Indonesia, the weather was quite similar to Vietnam. Yesterday's training session was mainly to recover and regain physical condition after a long trip. Today, everyone is in better physical condition to start professional training.
Coach Kim Sang-sik always requires each player to enter the field with more than 100% spirit and determination. Although there are times when we have slight pain on the training ground, with the encouragement of the coaching staff, we always try to stand up and continue to practice tirelessly. The championship in 2022 and 2023 is a source of pride and motivation for the whole team to strive to defend the achievements this season. We are quite comfortable, without much pressure."
Meanwhile, center back Nguyen Nhat Minh said: “I am very happy and proud to be on the list of 23 U23 Vietnam players going to Indonesia to participate in this tournament. I will try my best and put my highest determination to bring victory to the fans.”
Talking about potential opponents in the tournament, Nhat Minh highly appreciated U23 Indonesia after watching the match between the home team and Brunei: "U23 Indonesia is very determined this year, they have a strong squad and are very well prepared. That creates more motivation for U23 Vietnam to strive harder". This player also affirmed that he and his teammates are not afraid when facing naturalized players from Indonesia, Malaysia or the Philippines: "When it comes to the semi-finals and finals, every team is the same. The important thing is to have enough confidence and play to your ability. If you are confident, there is nothing to be afraid of".
Although U23 Laos is considered a weaker opponent, U23 Vietnam will not be complacent. Coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed U23 Vietnam's championship goal: "We set the highest goal in this tournament. The performance of the young players depends on their spirit and careful preparation. For me, every opponent deserves respect and needs to be carefully prepared."
The U23 Vietnam team will have their opening match against U23 Laos at 5:00 p.m. on July 19 at Patriot Stadium and will be broadcast live on FPT Play.
Coach Mai Duc Chung
After a week of being stationed at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, from July 20, the Vietnamese women's team will move to Quang Ninh to continue training and prepare for the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship.
Evaluating the results of the players' training after the first week, coach Mai Duc Chung said: "Despite the hot weather, the whole team's training spirit is commendable. The only unfortunate case is that Tuyet Ngan suddenly had an appendectomy during the training session with everyone. Therefore, the coaching staff will let Tuyet Ngan return home to receive care from her family to quickly recover. But the good news is that Thanh Nha will start returning with the team from next week. The team is generally complete to prepare for training in Quang Ninh."
Regarding the young players called up for this training session, coach Mai Duc Chung said: “After the national women's championship, we will continue to call up more young faces for further training. Many young faces are progressing very quickly. Continuous training time with other training programs at the club, training with experienced players is probably part of the reason why the players have made remarkable progress. The coaching staff also always reminds the young players to always be confident and determined. The coaching staff is ready to arrange for young players to compete if they are in good form.”
The next plan of the Vietnamese women's team continues to be divided into 2 stages, in which Huynh Nhu and her teammates will continue to train in Cam Pha (Quang Ninh) for 10 days (from July 20 to July 29). In the final stage, the whole team will move to Hai Phong from July 30 to settle down, get familiar with the competition field and prepare to enter the 2025 Southeast Asian women's tournament, a tournament in which the Vietnamese team plays the role of host team. In Group A, coach Mai Duc Chung and his team will meet opponents from Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand at Lach Tray Stadium on August 6, August 9 and August 12.
HH
Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/cho-u23-viet-nam-khoi-dau-thuan-loi-i775252/
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