Favorable draw for Vietnam U.23 team
According to the draw results, the U.23 Vietnam team will be in Group B with the U.23 Laos and Cambodia teams. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are highly regarded in terms of expertise, and also have an advantage in terms of match schedule. In the first round, the U.23 Vietnam team will not compete, and will watch the two opponents Laos and Cambodia face off directly. Coach Kim and his colleagues will have "material" to evaluate the strength of the opponents, from which they will come up with appropriate personnel usage and squad rotation plans.
If he calls up the best players of the U.23 team like Van Khang and Van Truong (from left to right), coach Kim Sang-sik will have a very strong squad.
PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG
On July 19, the U.23 Vietnam team will play the opening match against Laos at Patriot Stadium. On July 22, the young "Golden Star Warriors" will play against Cambodia at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
In this tournament, 10 teams are divided into 3 groups. The first team in each group and the second-place team with the best record will advance to the semi-finals.
In Group A, host Indonesia will face U.23 teams Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei. This is also the only group with 4 teams. Meanwhile, in Group C, U.23 Thailand will face U.23 teams Myanmar and Timor Leste.
The semi-finals will take place on July 25. The third-place match and final will take place on July 28 and 29, respectively.
Coach Kim Sang-sik's mission
Up to this point, the U.23 Vietnam team is the team with the best record in the history of the tournament with 2 consecutive championships (2022, 2023) and 1 bronze medal (2019). The goal of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team is to complete the "hat-trick" of Southeast Asian championships.
Coach Kim Sang-sik will personally lead the U.23 Vietnam team in Indonesia. Previously, in friendly tournaments, this task was assigned to assistant Dinh Hong Vinh.
PHOTO: NGOC LINH
In addition, Coach Kim Sang-sik has another more important task. The 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship will take place in mid-to-late July, right when the national championships in the region are on break. Therefore, the teams can call up the best players in their age groups to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games taking place at the end of the year in Thailand. According to Thanh Nien Newspaper, it is likely that the U.23 teams of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand will send their strongest squads to the tournament. The U.23 Vietnam team can also do the same.
Therefore, in addition to the championship goal, coach Kim Sang-sik's other goal is to build a framework and shape the playing style for the U.23 Vietnam team, aiming to conquer the 33rd SEA Games gold medal.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-u23-viet-nam-thay-kim-muon-bao-ve-ngoi-vuong-cu-phai-thang-lao-va-campuchia-da-185250612172535447.htm
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