Indonesia U.23 coach skips press conference for unexpected reason, assistant doesn't understand Vietnam U.23 well

The tense semi-final match with the U.23 Thailand team on the evening of July 25th left coach Gerald Vanenburg unable to ensure his health and had to be absent from the post-match press conference.

Thailand U.23 coach does not complain but is not satisfied

At Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, the U.23 Thailand and U.23 Indonesia teams tied 1-1 after 120 minutes, and had to decide the winner on penalties. In this lucky "shootout", the home team won 7-6 and secured a ticket to the final.

Brave in penalty shootout, U.23 Indonesia enters final to meet Vietnam

Coach Thawatchai Damrong Ongtrakul shared in the press conference after the match: "Congratulations to the U.23 Indonesia team for winning and reaching the final. This was a good match, both teams played well, fair play. On our side, we made some mistakes, had opportunities but could not take advantage of them."

Sorawat Phosaman successfully blocked the shot but was determined to have left the goal line too early.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

On the retake, he was fooled.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

In the penalty shootout, there was a notable situation when Thai U.23 goalkeeper Sorawat Phosaman successfully blocked the opponent's kick. However, the main referee determined that Phosaman was at fault, so the Indonesian U.23 team was allowed to retake the kick and it was successful. Coach Thawatchai also gave his opinion on this situation: "That was the decision of the main referee. He also had additional assistants to support him, so I respect this decision."

Coach Vanenburg did not attend the press conference.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Assistant coach of Indonesia U.23 team does not know who is the most dangerous of Vietnam U.23 team

Head coach of the Indonesian U.23 team, Mr. Gerald Vanenburg, was surprisingly absent from the post-match press conference. The reason was that the Dutch strategist lost his voice due to shouting too much during the 120 minutes and the penalty shootout. The person attending the press conference instead was assistant Frank van Kempen.

"We are very happy to have won," said Van Kempen. "It was a very, very tense match. The penalty shootout was also extremely nerve-wracking, so we are very happy to have reached the final.

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium exploded with the dramatic victory of the home team U.23 Indonesia

I made some tactical changes that we hadn't practiced before, like a lot of crosses. But it was great because they worked. We're very happy. The players were tired, but the important thing is that we won. We'll rest today and come back tomorrow to prepare for the final.

This assistant also shared about the opponent of the U.23 Indonesia team in the final match, the U.23 Vietnam team: "They are a very strong team, playing at a high level, they always prepare well for each match. I still don't know which player is the most dangerous on the U.23 Vietnam team. I will watch the semi-final match and the group stage matches carefully and then share later."

The final match between Indonesia U.23 team and Vietnam U.23 team will take place at 8:00 p.m. on July 29 at Gelora Bung Karno 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-u23-indonesia-bo-hop-bao-vi-ly-do-bat-ngo-tro-ly-chua-hieu-sau-u23-viet-nam-185250725235725701.htm