What conditions are needed for U22 Vietnam to pass the group stage of SEA Games 33?

VHO - The 4-1 victory of U22 Malaysia over U22 Laos in the second match of Group B of SEA Games 33 brought difficulties to U22 Vietnam.

SEA Games 33 men's football has 3 groups, the teams compete to choose the 3 leading teams and 1 second-place team with the best results in the 3 groups to enter the semi-finals.

U22 Malaysia (yellow shirt) is holding the power to decide in group B.

If in the opening match of Group B, U22 Vietnam only won U22 Laos 2-1, U22 Malaysia did better when they won 4-1 against the young team from the "Land of a Million Elephants".

This victory helps U22 Malaysia currently lead Group B despite having the same 3 points as U22 Vietnam but with a goal difference of +3 compared to U22 Vietnam's +1. With this result, U22 Laos has officially been eliminated from the tournament after two consecutive losses.

This result not only helps Malaysia temporarily gain an advantage but also forces U22 Vietnam into a situation where they must carefully calculate if they want to advance, especially aiming for the highest goal - the gold medal that coach Kim Sang-sik and his team set before departure.

The advantage in goal difference gives U22 Malaysia great autonomy in their hands. In the final match on December 11, they only need a draw against U22 Vietnam to be sure to continue as the top of the group.

Therefore, U22 Vietnam must win to take the number one position, thereby entering the semi-finals as group winners.

Coaching staff and players of U22 Vietnam attend the match U22 Malaysia - U22 Laos

In case of a draw, U22 Vietnam still has a chance to continue but the result depends on the final matches in groups A and C, taking place after the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Malaysia.

In case U22 Vietnam loses to U22 Malaysia, the chance of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team going further is quite low because the first condition for the second-place teams to compare each other when having the same number of points is goal difference.

In the match between U22 Malaysia and U22 Laos, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team came to the stadium to attend and certainly they were able to somewhat assess the opponent's strength as well as find reasonable plans for the decisive match on December 11.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/dieu-kien-nao-de-u22-viet-nam-vuot-qua-vong-bang-sea-games-33-186379.html