Coach Kim Sang Sik released a surprise lineup for the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Philippines.

Coach Kim Sang Sik chose a rather surprising lineup for the semi-final match against U23 Philippines at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.

On the afternoon of July 25, Coach Kim Sang Sik announced the starting lineup of the Vietnam U23 team for the semi-final match against the Philippines U23 at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship taking place in Indonesia at 4:00 p.m.

Compared to the 2-1 victory over U23 Cambodia in the final round of Group B, coach Kim Sang Sik made two surprising changes in the attack.

Accordingly, the Korean coach put Dinh Bac and Cong Phuong in the starting lineup to replace Quoc Viet and Vietnamese-Russian player Viktor Le. Mr. Kim only kept Khuat Van Khang in the left forward position.

Striker Dinh Bac's return to the starting lineup is understandable as he just scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over U23 Cambodia after coming on as a substitute.

But the fact that coach Kim Sang Sik put Quoc Viet on the bench for the first time in the tournament caused quite a surprise, even though this main striker could not score in the two group stage matches.

It seems that Mr. Kim wants to reduce the pressure on his student and will shine after coming on as a substitute against U23 Philippines.

Cong Phuong replacing Viktor Le is also a surprise. Because this 19-year-old player is more suitable to play as a central midfielder and attacking midfielder than a striker. At the same time, coach Klim Sang Sik still has many better wingers.

With these two changes in attack, the U23 Vietnam team promises to play better than in the group stage.

Returning after a minor ankle injury, central defender Pham Ly Duc continued to play, joining Nhat Minh (left) and Hieu Minh (right) to form a solid defense for the U23 Vietnam team. Along with him was goalkeeper Trung Kien.

The four midfielders include Phi Hoang (left), Xuan Bac, Van Truong, Anh Quan (right). Of which, Xuan Bac continues to play as the main player instead of Thai Son.

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NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-tung-doi-hinh-bat-ngo-tran-u23-viet-nam-dau-u23-philippines-20250725150112658.htm