This is a scenario that perhaps no Vietnamese football fan imagined before the start of the SEA Games 33 football tournament: at the same time (4 PM), on the same day (December 11th), the Vietnamese men's and women's football teams would battle it out against Malaysia and Myanmar respectively to secure a place in the semi-finals.
What makes it even more interesting is that both teams have the power to decide their own fate.
Fans are confident that both the Vietnamese men's and women's football teams will reach the semi-finals.
Vietnam U22 has two chances to advance from the group stage.
With a format introduced for the first time in men's football at the SEA Games, the four semi-final spots are reserved for the top three teams in each group and the best-performing second-placed team.
While the second-placed teams in groups A and C can only get a maximum of 3 points, the second-placed team in group B, Vietnam, has an advantage as they can achieve 4 points. The standings of the teams in group B before the final match between Vietnam and Malaysia are as follows:
Team | Number of matches | Goal | Defeat | Difference | Point |
Malaysia | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 3 |
Vietnam | 1 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
Laos | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 0 |
That's why fans, the media, and even the Indonesian U22 team themselves are worried that Vietnam and Malaysia will "collude" to draw so that both teams can advance to the semi-finals together.
The U22 Vietnam team is diligently training for the decisive match this afternoon, December 11th.
In reality, this won't happen. Why?
If they draw, the Vietnamese team will finish second in the group and face the host team Thailand in the semi-finals. Vietnamese football has always been superior to Malaysia for many years, so they wouldn't be at a disadvantage like the Austrian team, who "agreed" to lose 0-1 to the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1982 World Cup finals, accepting second place in the group below Germany to advance to the knockout stage and eliminate Algeria, even though before the match against Germany, Austria was ranked first, Germany third, and Algeria second.
The Germany - Austria match was considered a "disgrace" to world football, and it was because of this incident that FIFA decided that the final group stage matches would have to be played at the same time, in order to minimize the possibility of teams colluding to their advantage at the expense of their opponents.
The U22 Vietnam team has had the best possible preparation for the 33rd SEA Games.
That was the story from 43 years ago; today's Vietnam - Malaysia match will not be like that. Moreover, Vietnamese football is considered superior to Malaysia in the SEA Games arena, unlike Austria being inferior to Germany, and accepting a draw to advance to the semi-finals as the second-placed team in the group.
Even when playing against Vietnam, the Malaysian team will be stronger than in their 4-1 win against Laos, with the addition of... Goalkeeper Haziq Mukhriz , captain and defender Ubaidullah Shamsul , and forward Aliff Izwan Yuslan. Let 's not forget that Coach Polking of Hanoi Police FC agreed to let Nguyen Dinh Bac and Minh Phuc play for the Vietnam U22 team at the SEA Games instead of keeping them for the 2025-2026 Southeast Asian Club Cup . And it was Phuc who provided the assist for Bac's opening goal in Vietnam's 2-1 victory over Laos.
All 26 players of the current Vietnam U22 team are playing for clubs in the V-League 2025-2026 . Since the beginning of 2025, the Vietnam U22 team has participated in two Panda Cup friendly tournaments (March and November) against high-quality opponents such as South Korea, Uzbekistan, and China; successfully defended their Southeast Asian U23 Championship title (July); qualified for the 2026 Asian U23 Championship finals (September); and played two friendly matches during the FIFA Days in October against two equally strong opponents, UAE and Qatar.
In short , in preparation for the 2025 SEA Games with the VFF's target of winning the gold medal, the Vietnam U22 team has made the best possible preparations. The VFF has even agreed with the VPF to temporarily suspend the V-League to focus all efforts on the Vietnam U22 team.
Nguyen Dinh Bac, the hope of the Vietnamese U22 team's attack.
Looking back at the preparation process of the Vietnam U22 team, it was completely superior to that of the Malaysia U22 team, even though their national championship was still underway. Furthermore, Malaysia did not have their strongest squad when facing Vietnam, lacking striker Fergus Tierney, who was only released by his club Sabah to join the national team after December 14th .
Therefore, we need to place our trust in the Vietnamese team in this afternoon's match against Malaysia.
The women's team must win.
Coincidentally, at the 2023 SEA Games, the Vietnamese team also defeated Malaysia and Myanmar, lost to the Philippines to top the group, and then won the championship by defeating Cambodia in the semi-finals and then Myanmar in the final.
Vietnamese women's football has been and continues to be number one at the SEA Games.
Leaving aside the semi-finals and finals, in the group stage, just like two years ago, the Vietnamese team beat Malaysia and lost to the Philippines. Will they be able to beat Myanmar this time?
The teams' positions before the final round of matches, which will take place simultaneously between Vietnam - Myanmar and Philippines - Malaysia, are as follows:
Team | Number of matches | Goal | Defeat | Difference | Point |
Myanmar | 2 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
Vietnam | 2 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 3 |
Philippines | 2 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 3 |
Malaysia | 2 | 0 | 10 | -10 | 0 |
Malaysia has always been considered the underdog, so there's a 99.9% chance that the very strong Philippines will beat Malaysia. The important thing is by what margin the Philippines will win and whether they'll win convincingly enough to climb to the top of the table.
The highlight of this round remains the match between Vietnam and Myanmar, with Vietnam at a disadvantage as they must win to guarantee a place in the semi-finals without depending on the result of the Philippines - Malaysia match.
Despite the difficulties, Vietnamese women's football has been and continues to be number one at the SEA Games, being the first team to win the championship four times in a row ( 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023), surpassing Thailand's record of three consecutive championships in the early days (1985, 1995, 1997 ).
This means that the Vietnamese women's football team is not only number one at the SEA Games but also the reigning champion.
The Vietnamese women's team (left) are the reigning SEA Games champions.
Furthermore, in 27 encounters, Vietnam has won 20 matches, drawn 4, and lost only 3. Specifically at the SEA Games, in 6 meetings, Vietnam has also been superior with 5 wins and 1 draw. Even at the 2023 SEA Games, Vietnam defeated Myanmar 3-1 in the group stage and 2-0 in the final.
The head-to-head history, from the distant past to the recent past, favors the Vietnamese team.
With the best possible preparation from the U22 men's team and the strength, composure, and experience of the reigning women's champions, we have high hopes that both the Vietnamese men's and women's football teams will reach the semi-finals.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/ngay-quyet-dinh-cua-bong-da-viet-nam-tai-sea-games-196251211100404766.htm
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