U22 Vietnam opens the door to continue after Indonesia's surprising defeat

In the second match of Group C of the men's football tournament at the 33rd SEA Games at the 700th Anniversary Stadium (Chiangmai) on the evening of December 8, the defending SEA Games champion, U22 Indonesia, unexpectedly suffered a 0-1 defeat against U22 Philippines.

U22 Việt Nam mở toang cửa đi tiếp sau trận thua ngỡ ngàng của Indonesia - 1 — U22 Indonesia suffered a defeat against U22 Philippines (Photo: PSSI).

With this result, U22 Philippines has become the first team to qualify for the group stage of SEA Games 33. Meanwhile, U22 Indonesia is at risk of being eliminated with no points and a goal difference of -1. They will fight U22 Myanmar (0 points, goal difference of -2) in the final match on December 12.

Notably, the loss of U22 Indonesia to U22 Philippines has opened up the chance for U22 Vietnam to advance. According to the rules of the organizing committee, the top three teams in each group and the second-placed team with the best record will advance.

Currently, U22 Vietnam is ranked second in Group B with the same 3 points as U22 Malaysia but with a better goal difference. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team will win the ticket to the next round if they do not lose to U22 Malaysia in the last match.

With the developments in the groups after two matches, the second-placed teams in Groups A and C will certainly only have a maximum of 3 points. Even if U22 Singapore does not win U22 Thailand, and the match between U22 Indonesia and U22 Myanmar does not have a win or loss, U22 Vietnam will advance even if they lose to U22 Malaysia.

U22 Việt Nam mở toang cửa đi tiếp sau trận thua ngỡ ngàng của Indonesia - 2 — U22 Vietnam has a good chance of advancing to the next round of SEA Games 33 (Photo: Anh Khoa).

However, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team are not complacent. In fact, the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Malaysia took place the earliest in the third round (4:00 p.m. on December 11). Therefore, we cannot calculate the scenario of the remaining two matches in Group A and Group C.

Therefore, U22 Vietnam still has to show the highest determination and aim for victory against U22 Malaysia. Speaking to the press, midfielder Nhat Minh of U22 Vietnam commented on his opponent U22 Malaysia: "Both teams have 3 points so the chance is 50-50. The team that performs better will achieve the goal. We have prepared very carefully and are confident in aiming for the best result."