Latest semi-final schedule: Vietnam U23 focuses on winning against Philippines U23.

A convincing victory against U.23 Malaysia helped U.23 Vietnam advance from the group stage with a perfect record, but the knockout round in the semi-finals will be much more challenging.

The Philippines U23 team has made significant progress.

The Vietnam U23 team will play their first semi-final match of the 33rd SEA Games against the Philippines U23 team at 3:30 PM on December 15th. This is the second consecutive time the two teams have met in the semi-finals of a regional tournament, the first being in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship where Vietnam U23 won 2-1. We conceded first, then Dinh Bac and Xuan Bac scored to reach the final and subsequently win the championship. It was not an easy match as the Philippines U23 team played with great determination and passion, even though Vietnam U23 had superior ball control and experience. Five months after their defeat against us, the Philippines U23 team has improved significantly, as evidenced by their perfect record in the group stage. The young "Azkals" (the nickname of the Philippines U23 team) have made everyone wary by defeating the championship contender Indonesia U23 to confidently advance to the semi-finals.

Vietnam U23 team gathered at the RBAC University training ground on December 12th.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

The U23 Philippines team plays a simple style, focusing on tight defense and waiting for quick counter-attacks to score. Their core consists of five national team players: defender Santiago Runlico, midfielders Sandro Reyes and Javier Mariona, and forwards Dylan Dmuynck and Otu Banatao. Seven of the U23 Philippines players have participated in previous SEA Games, with Sandro Reyes and Jaime Rosquillo having competed since the 31st SEA Games (in 2022 in Vietnam).

All these factors, coupled with their high spirits, will give the Philippines U.23 team the confidence to face Vietnam U.23.

The U.23 Philippines team had previously scored against U.23 Vietnam, so they were confident they could create a difficult game for Coach Kim Sang-sik's squad.

Will Vietnam U23 have reason to celebrate after the semi-final match?

After cheering on the Vietnamese women's team as they defeated Myanmar on the night of December 11th to advance to the semi-finals, on the morning of December 12th, the President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Tran Quoc Tuan, visited and encouraged the Vietnamese U23 team. At The Quarter Ratchayothin by UHG hotel in Bangkok, Mr. Tuan praised the team's perfect winning record under coach Kim Sang-sik and urged them to focus entirely on the semi-final match.

Minh Phúc is in top form.

Coach Kim Sang-sik himself has instructed his players to immediately forget their group stage victories, because the nature of the semi-final match will be completely different and much more demanding. On the afternoon of December 12th, the Vietnam U23 team held a training session on their familiar pitch at RBAC University. Players who started and played frequently only did light recovery running, while those who played less were given more exercise. The good news is that all 23 players are healthy and in very good spirits. The focus of the Vietnam U23 coaching staff will be to help the entire team recover as quickly as possible within the short three days, while the Philippines U23 team has had a rest since December 8th, meaning they have almost a week to prepare. For a team that relies on physical strength and hard work like the Philippines U23, that is a significant amount of time to unleash their full potential against Vietnam U23.

Conversely, the Vietnam U23 team has a fairly good understanding of the Philippines U23 team's playing style, from direct experience at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and watching their two matches against Indonesia and Myanmar. In reality, the key to Vietnam U23 defeating the Philippines U23 and reaching the final will lie within themselves. Final touches need to be calmer, players need to be bolder, and communication with each other needs to be better...

Left-back Nguyen Phi Hoang, making his first start at the SEA Games 33 in the victory against U23 Malaysia, shared: "The whole team is very happy to have won against U23 Malaysia. Coach Kim hasn't shared much yet, only congratulated the team on reaching the semi-finals. We always stay focused, and every time we step onto the field, we try to execute the tactics given by the coaching staff. From today, the entire U23 Vietnam team will train actively, and in daily life, we will try to communicate more to prepare for the semi-final match. U23 Philippines is also a strong team. They beat Indonesia. But the most important thing for U23 Vietnam is to focus and fight with all our might in the match against U23 Philippines. In addition, in the final stage, the team also needs to improve its finishing ability."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-ban-ket-moi-nhat-u23-viet-nam-tap-trung-de-thang-u23-philippines-185251212224434306.htm