Pham Ly Duc: 'Without an audience, we still play our best'

Center back Pham Ly Duc affirmed that the spirit of solidarity is the fulcrum that helped U23 Vietnam come from behind against U23 Philippines to win a ticket to the final of U23 Southeast Asia 2025, despite the empty stands.

Ly Duc affirmed that solidarity is the mainstay of U23 Vietnam. Photo: Tam Minh .

"With or without spectators, we are still the ones who directly decide the match. This is a dedicated match for both teams. U23 Philippines is a strong team and played very hard. Even though we were behind, we still maintained our unity and fought until the last minute," Ly Duc said after the match with U23 Philippines on the afternoon of July 25.

In the semi-final match played in a stadium with almost no spectators, U23 Vietnam faced many difficulties when the opponent scored first. However, with courage and resilience, the students of coach Kim Sang-sik turned the tables thanks to goals from Dinh Bac and Xuan Bac. Center back Pham Ly Duc affirmed that the spirit of solidarity was an important factor helping U23 Vietnam successfully reverse the score against U23 Philippines with a score of 2-1.

Despite winning the match, the U23 Vietnam strikers still missed many scoring opportunities. However, Ly Duc said that his teammates were just a little unlucky: "Maybe the team was a little unlucky. Coach Kim Sang-sik will definitely work with the team on finishing."

The 2003-born centre-back started his third consecutive match in this year’s tournament and continued to leave his mark with a solid performance in defence. Before the semi-final, Ly Duc suffered an ankle injury during the warm-up but recovered in time to be in the starting lineup. He also scored in the group stage and is currently one of the most prominent players in the Vietnam U23 defence.

U23 Vietnam's opponent in the final match will be the winner of the remaining semi-final match between host U23 Indonesia and U23 Thailand taking place tonight.

Source: https://znews.vn/pham-ly-duc-khong-co-khan-gia-chung-toi-van-choi-het-minh-post1571690.html