Southeast Asian football is different now
If in the two previous championships, U.23 Vietnam was under the leadership of coach Dinh The Nam (2022) and coach Hoang Anh Tuan (2023), this time VFF sent national team coach Kim Sang-sik to lead the team, because regional football has had many changes.
U.23 Vietnam (left) aims to win the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship
PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG
The U.23 Southeast Asian Championship was born in 2005 with the championship belonging to the host team Thailand. However, at that time, the countries in the region were not really interested in this playground, so the fate of the tournament was very "unstable". It was not until 2019 that the tournament was restored in Cambodia and the Indonesian youth team was crowned. In two consecutive terms in 2022 and 2023, the U.23 Vietnam team convincingly won the championship.
Recently, the regional football scene has changed a lot, so the competition in the U.23 arena has become more fierce. Not only is it an important premise for the SEA Games, this tournament also helps teams review their forces to prepare for the U.23 Asian qualifiers in September. In particular, the player naturalization policy of many countries has had a profound impact on the orientation, motivation and ambition for achievements of the entire regional football scene, including U.23 Vietnam.
Coach Kim Sang-sik faces many challenges
The first training session of U.23 Vietnam in Indonesia
Photo: VFF
Currently, the U.23 Indonesia team is determined to win the championship right at home. The U.23 Malaysia team is planning to redraw the map of youth football in the region. These two teams are truly a big obstacle for any opponent, when calling up many national players and strengthening some naturalized players, combining the Indonesian and Malaysian players. In addition, the U.23 Thailand team is also ambitious to defeat the U.23 Vietnam team after many years of waiting.
U.23 Vietnam must know how to turn challenges into motivation
In fact, we can be confident of winning the first place in Group B because the two opponents Laos and Cambodia are considered to be underdogs; but if we enter the semi-finals and meet the second place team in Group A (Indonesia or Malaysia) or the second place team in Group C (Thailand or Myanmar), things will no longer be simple. In the face of predictable changes and challenges, VFF and Mr. Kim Sang-sik have prepared early.
After the training period, the Korean coach finalized the U.23 Vietnam list with many faces who have worn or are wearing the national team jersey and have international experience such as Pham Ly Duc, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Thai Son, Nguyen Dinh Bac... The physique and physical condition of many young Vietnamese players are also quite good, meeting the requirements of competition and confrontation in modern football. The elimination of many factors that have made personal impressions such as Le Van Thuan, Dinh Xuan Tien, Ho Van Cuong... shows that Mr. Kim is building the U.23 team not based on names but focusing on current performance.
To win the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship this time is not easy. But in the context of the increasingly upgraded football level in the region, the "pure Vietnamese" players should also know how to turn challenges into motivation, reposition themselves and foster the spirit of dedication to the national flag. If they can do that, completing a hat-trick of U.23 Southeast Asian titles is not impossible for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-dinh-vi-lai-chinh-minh-185250714220359094.htm
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