Defeating the Philippines, U23 Vietnam entered the final of the Southeast Asian tournament for the third consecutive time

VHO - Defeating U23 Philippines in the semi-final match on the afternoon of July 25, the U23 Vietnam team won the right to enter the final of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.

U23 Philippines is an interesting “phenomenon” in the tournament. In the group stage, this team excellently defeated U23 Malaysia and U23 Brunei (both 2-0) and only lost 0-1 to host U23 Indonesia to win the right to enter the round of 4 strongest teams as the second-placed team with the best record.

U23 Vietnam starting lineup

Meanwhile, U23 Vietnam entered the semi-finals as the winner of Group B and was also the only team to win all the matches in the group stage.

Facing an opponent with a very clear defensive counter-attacking style of play with fast and technical players, coach Kim Sang-sik still kept the same 3-5-2 formation as the match with U23 Cambodia.

The defense includes goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, along with three central defenders Pham Ly Duc, Nguyen Hieu Minh, Nguyen Nhat Minh. The midfield includes Vo Anh Quan, Nguyen Cong Phuong, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Van Truong, Nguyen Xuan Bac. The two strikers will be Nguyen Dinh Bac and Nguyen Phi Hoang.

Compared to the match against U23 Cambodia, Cong Phuong replaced Viktor Le, and Dinh Bac replaced Nguyen Quoc Viet. Before the match, center back Pham Ly Duc had a slight pain in his ankle, but was still in good enough condition to play.

U23 Vietnam wasted opportunities in the first minutes of the match.

U23 Vietnam entered the match proactively, confidently attacking and creating delicious opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the match.

Just during this time, Dinh Bac and Anh Quan hit the opponent's post, causing regret for the fans.

Squandering the opportunity, U23 Vietnam paid the price with a goal conceded in the 35th minute. Starting from a throw-in situation, the U23 Vietnam defense handled the situation quite awkwardly, opening up an opportunity for number 20 Javier Marinona to finish with his left foot close to the goal, defeating goalkeeper Trung Kien to open the score of the match.

Dinh Bac equalized 1-1

However, the U23 Philippines' lead did not last long. In the 41st minute, from a cross from his teammate on the left wing, Dinh Bac jumped and skillfully headed the ball, hitting the post and bouncing out, and the player himself rushed in to score the rebound, tying the score at 1-1.

Nine minutes into the second half, U23 Vietnam took the lead for the first time. Phi Hoang sent a high cross into the 16m50 area and Xuan Bac jumped up and made a beautiful header, leaving the opposing goalkeeper helpless.

The red shirt players created a good game in the second half.

The second goal helped U23 Vietnam completely dominate the game with superior ball possession and if they were luckier, coach Kim Sang-sik's students would have scored the third goal in the 78th minute after Phi Hoang had an accurate cross from the left wing but in front of an open goal, Van Thuan shot the ball over the bar.

In the final minutes, U23 Philippines attacked in vain. All efforts to cross the ball from the two wings of this team were ineffective.

Even in the 5th minute of extra time, center back Jaime Rosquillo fouled Quoc Viet right in front of the U23 Philippines penalty area and received a direct red card.

A well-deserved victory for U23 Vietnam

The 2-1 victory over U23 Philippines helped U23 Vietnam reach the final of the Southeast Asian tournament for the third consecutive time. In the previous two times in 2022 and 2023, U23 Vietnam won and became the champion.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team's opponent in the final match this year will be the winner of the match between U23 Thailand and U23 Indonesia.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/thang-philippines-u23-viet-nam-lan-thirteen-lien-tiep-vao-chung-ket-giai-dong-nam-a-156176.html