U.23 Malaysia 'immobilized' before SEA Games 33, other opponents of U.23 Vietnam received a shock

Coach Nafuzi Zain of the U.23 Malaysia team was extremely disappointed when his team could not concentrate on preparing for the 33rd SEA Games as early as their opponents and faced the absence of key players. Meanwhile, the U.23 Indonesia team suffered a heavy defeat against Mali.

U.23 Vietnam continuously receives good news before SEA Games 33

The Vietnam U23 team is participating in the Panda Cup friendly tournament in China, with the result of winning the Chinese U23 team 1-0 and losing to the Uzbekistan U23 team 0-1. The final match of coach Kim Sang-sik's students (currently led by coach Dinh Hong Vinh) will be against the Korean U23 team on November 18.

Coach Kim Sang-sik is with the Vietnamese team in Vientiane (Laos), preparing for the match against this team at 7:00 p.m. on November 19 in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

U.23 Vietnam (center) is competing in China to prepare for SEA Games 33, continuously receiving good news while competitors face many difficulties in the preparation process.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

Other information related to U.23 Vietnam, when the main opponent in the same group B in men's football SEA Games 33, U.23 Malaysia, is facing many difficulties in preparing for the tournament.

According to coach Nafuzi Zain's revelation on Astro Arena channel on November 15: "U.23 Malaysia cannot concentrate on preparing during the FIFA Days in November, while most of the teams in the region are gathering and playing friendly tournaments as well as training matches. This is extremely difficult for us."

During this period, only the Malaysian team is focusing on preparing for the match with Nepal (November 18) in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. However, coach Cklamovski has called up most of the veteran or naturalized players who are eligible, with only 3 players of age still eligible to participate in the SEA Games: Ubaidullah Shamsul, Nooa Laine and Aliff Izwan. Therefore, the U.23 Malaysian team is considered to be immobile at the present time.

In addition to not being able to gather early to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games, U.23 Malaysia also faces the possibility of missing two key players when the tournament takes place, namely Scottish striker Fergus Tierney and striker Aliff Izwan, as both could join the clubs Sabah FC and Selangor FC respectively if they qualify for the final of the Malaysian FA Cup on December 18.

"I can only thank the organizers of the A1 Semi-Pro League (a second-tier league, which brings together many young Malaysian players to compete in an effort to reform the structure of football in this country), for stopping the competition during this time. Thereby, helping the players have conditions to rest. They also have conditions to partly prepare for the 33rd SEA Games.

However, there are still many players competing in the Super League and the FA Cup semi-finals. I hope they will be released by the clubs earlier (at the end of November), so they have more time to prepare. Currently, we cannot concentrate, so there will not be much time," coach Nafuzi Zain shared with Astro Arena channel.

U.23 Indonesia (red shirt) just suffered a heavy defeat against U.23 Mali with a score of 0-3, while U.23 Thailand (middle) beat U.23 India with a score of 4-0.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

According to coach Nafuzi Zain: "In the previous two SEA Games, U.23 Malaysia played unsuccessfully and disappointingly. Winning the SEA Games gold medal is our dream. I personally dream about it too, but the current road is too bumpy. We need to persevere and learn from previous mistakes. SEA Games 33 is the best opportunity for us to make up for previous disappointments."

How did Vietnam U.23's opponents perform?

At the 33rd SEA Games, U.23 Malaysia is in Group B with U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Laos. According to the latest schedule, all matches in this group will take place at Tinsulanon Stadium in Songkhla Province, including the opening match between U.23 Laos and U.23 Vietnam on December 4; U.23 Malaysia and U.23 Laos on December 7; and the final match between U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Malaysia on December 11. All matches will take place at 6:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the two key rivals in the race for the SEA Games 33 men's football gold medal with U.23 Vietnam, U.23 Indonesia and the host team U.23 Thailand, have just had warm-up training matches.

In particular, U.23 Indonesia, the current SEA Games gold medalist, in the match with the return of veteran coach Indra Sjafri, immediately suffered a shocking defeat against U.23 Mali with a score of 0-3 on November 15. U.23 Indonesia will also play a rematch with U.23 Mali on November 18.

Meanwhile, U.23 Thailand won U.23 India 4-0 on the same day, November 15. Similar to U.23 Indonesia, U.23 Thailand will also play a rematch with U.23 India on November 18, in preparation for the 33rd SEA Games.

At the 33rd SEA Games, U.23 Thailand is in Group A playing at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, opening against U.23 Timor Leste on December 3; followed by U.23 Cambodia vs. U.23 Timor Leste on December 6; and the final match between U.23 Thailand vs. U.23 Cambodia on December 11. All matches in this group will take place at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, U.23 Indonesia is in group C, competing in Chiang Mai City, including the opening match against U.23 Singapore on December 5, against U.23 Philippines on December 8 and against U.23 Myanmar on December 12, all at the 700th Anniversary Stadium.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-malaysia-bat-dong-truoc-sea-games-33-doi-thu-khac-cua-u23-viet-nam-nhan-cu-soc-185251116105509513.htm