with 2 matches between Malaysia - Philippines (5pm) and host Indonesia - Brunei (8pm).
The 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will take place from July 15 to 29 in Indonesia, with the participation of 10 teams in the region. The teams are divided into 3 groups, playing a round-robin, selecting the 3 group winners and 1 second-place team with the best results to enter the semi-finals.
U23 Indonesia and U23 Malaysia are the two strong candidates in Group A of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship thanks to their squad of high-quality naturalized players of European origin. Hosts Indonesia and Malaysia are the two teams that experts rate as having a high chance of advancing. On the opening day of the tournament, Indonesia and Malaysia were considered to be better than their opponents.
Match schedule of U23 Vietnam in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Tournament (Graphic: VE LOAN)
Malaysia U23 has a number of outstanding naturalized players, typically left-back Gabriel Palmero (of Spanish origin) and striker Fergus Tierney (of Scottish origin). In the friendly matches before the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 with domestic clubs, Fergus Tierney made a strong impression with 2 goals. This 1.84 m tall striker also scored 1 goal in the group stage match of the 2024 ASEAN Cup.
Before coming to this tournament, Malaysia had a very thorough preparation process. Coach Zain and his team actively trained their troops for more than 2 weeks with 3 friendly matches and achieved very positive results. The playing style was assessed as cohesive, creating smoothness and high discipline in both attack and defense. Therefore, U23 Malaysia confidently set the goal of winning this tournament.
The Philippines U23 is an "unknown factor" in Group A and can only overcome Malaysia to have hope of reaching the semi-finals. The Philippines has called up many naturalized players, similar to the way they have built the core of the team over the past 15 years. These "African-born" players are expected to be the mainstay, leading the native Filipino players in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is "more comfortable" when facing U23 Brunei. The team from the archipelago is led by Dutch coach Gerald Vanenburg. In his latest statements, this strategist expressed his confidence when declaring that he wants to win all matches to win the U23 Southeast Asian championship. Group A with hosts Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei is considered the "death group", with only 1 guaranteed place in the semi-finals.
The upcoming tournament is not only of honorable significance but also considered a stepping stone for U23 Indonesia towards the U23 Asian qualifiers and further, successfully defending the SEA Games 33 gold medal which will take place at the end of this year.
U23 Vietnam is in Group B with U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia, which is considered an easy group. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will meet Laos (July 19) and Cambodia (July 22). Group C includes Thailand, Myanmar and Timor Leste.
Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand are the top 3 candidates for the championship. U23 Vietnam is the most successful team in the tournament with 2 consecutive championships. Thailand and Indonesia have only won the championship once each.
At 10:00 a.m. on July 15, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper organized a Talkshow to cheer on the Vietnam U23 team, with in-depth comments and analysis from football experts. The Talkshow "Let's support and cheer on the Vietnam U23 team" organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper had the participation of football expert Doan Minh Xuong and coach Hoang Anh Tuan. The program was hosted by journalist/host Huynh Sang.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/giai-u23-dong-nam-a-2025-khoi-dong-o-bang-a-196250714200823728.htm
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