Goalkeeper Trung Kien gives an interview to the media - Photo: ANH KHOA
On the afternoon of December 13th, the Vietnam U22 team held a training session in Bangkok to prepare for their SEA Games 33 semi-final match against the Philippines U22 team on December 15th.
Because an event was taking place at the RBAC University stadium, the Vietnam U22 team was assigned a different training ground for both December 13th and 14th.
The new training ground is further away than the old one, so coach Kim Sang Sik and his team had to leave at 2 PM, an hour earlier than usual, to avoid traffic jams that could affect the training session.
Speaking to the media before training, goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien shared: "After the victory against U22 Malaysia, the team has resumed training and is focusing on Coach Kim's training plan for the next match."
Speaking about the team's morale after the easy 2-0 victory against U22 Malaysia in the group stage, the number one goalkeeper of the Vietnam U22 team said that it was a motivation and boosted the team's confidence to continue performing well in the semi-final match.
Goalkeeper Trung Kien (left) with the other two goalkeepers of the Vietnam U22 team - Photo: ANH KHOA
"What instructions did Coach Kim Sang Sik give to the whole team?", the reporter asked.
Goalkeeper Trung Kien replied: "After each match, the coach always analyzes and addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the entire team in a meeting."
Assessing their opponent, the U22 Philippines, goalkeeper Trung Kien said: "The U22 Philippines are a strong team. They defeated the defending champions, U22 Indonesia, in the group stage, and they are a team worth focusing on and being determined to win against."
Vietnam U22 came from behind to beat Philippines U22 in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in Indonesia last July.
Speaking about the differences between the two opponents, goalkeeper Trung Kien assessed: "I think there's no difference. The U22 Philippines team is still strong. The whole team and I personally feel that way."
Regarding what improvements the Vietnam U22 team has made to the goal conceded from a set piece, similar to the one conceded in their opening match against Laos U22 (2-1 win), goalkeeper Trung Kien shared: "We have analyzed the team's poor performances. We also focused on training sessions to avoid a repeat of conceding a goal from a set piece."
Goalkeeper Trung Kien said that he always enters every tournament with the goal of not conceding a single goal. The SEA Games 33 is no exception.
The 1.91m tall goalkeeper shared his thoughts on the responsibility of being the number one goalkeeper for the Vietnam U22 team. "Every environment has competition. Whether it's me or anyone else playing, we will all focus and do our best when we have the opportunity to play," he said.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thu-mon-trung-kien-toi-dat-muc-tieu-khong-de-thung-luoi-ban-nao-20251213181523662.htm
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