Fierce war of words before the final match of U23 Southeast Asia 2025

(NLDO) - Coach Kim Sang-sik and his colleague Gerald Vanenburg are both confident in their team's preparation for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 final.

Sharing at a press conference on July 28, coach Kim Sang-sik said: "We played one less match than Indonesia, that is a small advantage. However, fighting spirit is the important thing in a final match. Therefore, U23 Vietnam will try to overcome the psychological barrier to complete the goal in a match that is expected to be tense and pressurized."

Coach Kim Sang-sik

Regarding the balance of power between the two teams participating in the U23 Southeast Asian final match that will take place on July 29, the Korean strategist commented: "I think Indonesia's lineup will not change, even though they played 120 minutes against Thailand. Three days off is enough to help the young Indonesian players recover their physical condition."

Finally, Mr. Kim expressed his determination: "The Vietnamese players are ready to contribute, bring joy and beautiful memories to the home fans. The match will be very difficult but we have prepared well and if we follow the plan, U23 Vietnam will win."

Immediately afterwards, the head coach of U23 Indonesia also asserted that the whole team had the best preparation to win the championship. In the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, coach Gerald Vanenburg's team had home field advantage but was in a situation of losing strength due to the "storm" of injuries.

U23 Vietnam shows confidence before entering the final match with U23 Indonesia

"We lost to Vietnam on penalties two years ago, but it won't be a problem if we have to continue to decide the winner on penalties tomorrow. The Indonesian players did very well against Thailand, so they are not afraid of this. In penalties, the important thing is spirit, whichever player is confident will be able to take the penalty."

Talking about the U23 Indonesia team preparing for the "throne" match, the Dutch coach shared: "They still look good, hopefully they will be able to compete. But if they cannot compete, I still have to find other options to compete with Vietnam."

The final will apply VAR

Source: https://nld.com.vn/khau-chien-nay-lua-truoc-tran-chung-ket-u23-dong-nam-a-2025-196250728172019334.htm