Coach Kim Sang Sik points out the advantages of U23 Vietnam before the Southeast Asian final

Coach Kim Sang Sik points out the advantages of U23 Vietnam before the Southeast Asian final

“With only one final match left, the whole team is ready to contribute, bring joy and beautiful memories to Vietnamese fans. This will be a difficult match, but if we play according to the preparation and plan, I believe we will win,” the Korean strategist shared at a press conference on the afternoon of July 28 in Jakarta (Indonesia).

Coach Kim Sang Sik. Photo: VFF.

On the way to the final, the U23 Indonesia team had to go through 120 minutes of "hard fighting" against the U23 Thailand team in the semi-final while the U23 Vietnam team only needed 90 minutes to create a comeback against the U23 Philippines. This is also the basis for many people to believe that the U23 Vietnam team has a slight advantage before the final match when the host team Indonesia has exhausted a lot of physical strength in the semi-final match.

However, coach Kim Sang Sik does not think this is too important for the upcoming match. “We have played one less match, which is only a small advantage. However, in a final match that is always very tense and pressurized, the competitive spirit is also decisive. The whole team will try to promote that to overcome the challenge,” said coach Kim Sang Sik.

The Korean coach also believes that the U23 Indonesia squad will not change much compared to the semi-final match. "I think the Indonesian squad will not change much. Although they have many young players, with a three-day break, they will have enough time to recover," coach Kim Sang Sik added.

Also present at the press conference, Vietnamese-American midfielder Viktor Le affirmed the team's readiness: "We have prepared well, taken each step one by one and are now ready for the final match. The goal is to achieve good results to bring the championship trophy back to Vietnam."

Midfielder Viktor Le. Photo: VFF.

Assessing his own scoring performance, Viktor Le shared: “I am always confident before each match. I do not put too much emphasis on scoring. The more I think, the harder it is to do. The important thing is to keep a relaxed spirit. If the goal comes, I will be very happy. If not, it doesn't matter, whoever scores, as long as the team wins. I hope we can bring the cup home.”

The final match between the U23 Vietnam team and the host team U23 Indonesia will take place at 8:00 p.m. on July 29 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium with a capacity of over 80,000 seats. This is the third consecutive time that U23 Vietnam has participated in the final of the Southeast Asian U23 Championship, after two consecutive championships in 2022 and 2023.

On July 28, the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) officially announced the application of VAR technology in the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship between Vietnam U23 and Indonesia U23. This is the first time VAR has been applied in a match at the Southeast Asian U23 level.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-kim-sang-sik-chi-ra-loi-the-cua-u23-viet-nam-truoc-tran-chung-ket-dong-nam-a-i776331/