Coach Kim Sang-sik 'examines' the Philippines very closely, gives surprising news about Ly Duc: 'U.23 Vietnam will...'

On the afternoon of July 24, at a press conference before the semi-final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship, coach Kim Sang-sik said that the U.23 Vietnam team needs to lock down two players on the attacking line of the U.23 Philippines team to be able to win.

U.23 Vietnam must complete this mission...

Opening the press conference, coach Kim Sang-sik shared: "First of all, I am very happy that the U.23 Vietnam team has entered the semi-finals. We won 2 matches in the group stage thanks to the efforts of the players, the coaching staff and other members. We will try our best on the field. We will try to prepare well to achieve favorable results."

Coach Kim Sang-sik also added about the injury situation of key central defender Pham Ly Duc: "He was injured during the warm-up in the match against Cambodia, had a problem with his ankle and is recovering. The possibility of playing in the semi-finals is still open. We need to monitor more in today's training session."

Before the semi-final match, what did the coaches of U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Philippines think about their opponents?

The Korean strategist added: "The Philippines' strength is defensive counter-attacks with players number 7 and number 20, which are very dangerous. The defenders of the U.23 Vietnam team need to be very focused to lock down these players. Malaysia also played well but did not achieve good results. The semi-final teams such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines are all equally strong at this time."

Coach Kim Sang-sik carefully analyzed the U.23 Philippines team.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Trung Kien is also very confident.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien expressed his determination: "Recently, my team and I have been very focused and determined to prepare for the next two matches."

The semi-final match between the U.23 Vietnam team and the Philippines will take place at 4 p.m. on July 25 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. At 4 p.m. on July 24, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will have an open training session at Madya Stadium.

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-soi-cuc-ky-philippines-bao-tin-bat-ngo-ve-ly-duc-u23-viet-nam-se-185250724084835311.htm