Coach Kim Sang Sik and his U23 Vietnam players in the locker room after the 2-1 win over U23 Cambodia - Photo: VFF
"Congratulations on today's victory to the players who played and those who have not played. Everyone has worked hard. We have two more matches ahead. You have to think of both of these matches as finals, including the semi-final match with U23 Philippines," coach Kim Sang Sik told his players after U23 Vietnam beat U23 Cambodia 2-1 on the evening of July 22.
With the top spot in Group A, U23 Vietnam will meet U23 Philippines in the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. U23 Philippines won against U23 Malaysia in the first round, lost to U23 Indonesia in the next round before defeating Brunei in the final round of Group A to advance as runner-up.
Although not rated as highly as U23 Indonesia, U23 Philippines is still considered a tough opponent. Their squad includes many players who participated in the most recent Southeast Asian U23 Championship in 2023, and met U23 Vietnam under the leadership of coach Hoang Anh Tuan in the group stage.
At that time, U23 Philippines caused quite a lot of difficulties for U23 Vietnam and only lost by a minimum of 0-1. In this match, U23 Philippines also provoked Nguyen Van Truong, causing him to be sent off with a red card.
The current U23 Vietnam squad only has 3 players who played against U23 Philippines in the most recent tournament, including Nguyen Van Truong, Khuat Van Khang and Nguyen Quoc Viet. The red card against U23 Philippines is a lesson that Van Truong will never forget.
The first semi-final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship between U23 Vietnam and U23 Philippines will take place at 4:00 p.m. on July 25.
Then, in the remaining semi-final match at 8:00 p.m., host U23 Indonesia and U23 Thailand will recreate the fierce match for the gold medal in men's football at the 32nd SEA Games.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-noi-tran-gap-u23-philippines-nhu-chung-ket-20250723180136241.htm
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