U.23 Vietnam is strong but the opponent is not weak: How to defend the throne?

Vietnam U23 is highly regarded in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and aims to defend the title. With high expectations from fans, coach Kim Sang-sik's team must deal with many challenges from both inside and outside.

After the national team's low point due to the difficulty in competing with massively naturalized opponents, this year's U.23 Southeast Asian Championship is a great opportunity for Vietnamese youth football to affirm its position in the region. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team has received many expectations, but to defend the throne, they need to solve difficult problems, from performance to tactics and dealing with other very strong opponents.

Personnel selection and psychological "game" of U.23 Vietnam

One of the factors that will determine the success of U.23 Vietnam in this tournament in 2023 is the balanced squad, with a combination of veteran players and promising young talents. The current squad of the team, led by coach Kim Sang-sik, maintains stability while adding new faces with potential. Central defenders such as Ly Duc, Le Van Ha and Nguyen Hieu Minh are strong points in the defense, providing many tactical options for the team. However, the midfield has too many quality players, most of whom play in the V-League, which makes it difficult to choose the starting lineup.

To defend the throne, what problem do U.23 Vietnam and coach Kim Sang-sik need to solve?

The U.23 Vietnam forward line is not lacking in talent, with players such as Quoc Viet, Dinh Bac and Thanh Nhan. After 2 weeks of training, the squad has clearly improved in terms of cohesion and movement. The advantage of experience from playing in the V-League also plays an important role in building a well-balanced team.

Fitness is always a decisive factor in long tournaments. Coach Kim Sang-sik shared that in addition to building suitable tactics, ensuring the players' fitness is an indispensable important factor. U.23 Vietnam needs to maintain stable performance throughout the tournament, avoid injuries and distribute energy reasonably between matches. Exercises to improve physical strength and endurance are applied to help players maintain good physical condition.

Coach Kim Sang-sik is ready to enter the first official tournament with the Vietnam U.23 team.

PHOTO: VFF

Many U.23 Vietnam players are playing in V-League

PHOTO: VFF

In addition to tactics and physical factors, coach Kim Sang-sik also focuses on preparing the players mentally. The U.23 Southeast Asian tournament is always highly competitive, and staying calm in stressful situations is very important. Coach Kim Sang-sik helps the players maintain their confidence while facing the pressure of fans' expectations.

The opponents are also very strong.

U.23 Vietnam cannot be complacent against strong opponents like Thailand and Indonesia. Thailand, with its strong tradition in regional tournaments, is always a formidable opponent. Meanwhile, Indonesia, with its strong investment in youth training, is also a team with many potential surprises.

Coach Kim Sang-sik said that Thailand and Indonesia are two strong candidates for the championship. Therefore, U.23 Vietnam must find a reasonable strategy to overcome these opponents, especially in the decisive matches. In the recent opening match, Jens Raven, the newly naturalized player of U.23 Indonesia, had an impressive debut when contributing 6 goals in the 8-0 victory over U.23 Brunei.

Highlight U.23 Indonesia 8-0 U.23 Brunei: Naturalized young star scores 6 goals

One of the important tactics that U.23 Vietnam needs to deploy is the ability to flexibly adapt to changes in the opponent's playing style. Coach Kim Sang-sik emphasized that the team needs to defend firmly but also be strong in attack to maintain stable performance in difficult matches.

At 5:00 p.m. on July 19, U.23 Vietnam will play against U.23 Laos. Previously, in the first match of Group B, U.23 Laos and U.23 Cambodia drew 1-1, temporarily pushing U.23 Vietnam to the bottom of the table.

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-manh-nhung-doi-thu-khong-he-xoang-bao-ve-ngoi-vuong-bang-cach-nao-185250717125448703.htm