Vietnam U23 team confidently heading to SEA Games 33 - Photo: VFF
With what the candidates have shown, the race for the 33rd SEA Games gold medal is almost only a competition between host Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam - the three teams that have reached the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.
Mr. Kim's quality squad
Player quality is the biggest strength of the three candidates above. In particular, U23 Vietnam has a strong and even squad, a very strong framework with 7 national players. Many players have played much better to create a new momentum for U23 Vietnam.
Standing at 1.91m tall, goalkeeper Trung Kien dominates the goal against the opponent's high balls. Ly Duc commands a solid defense thanks to his courage and experience. Van Truong plays an important role in the midfield. Dinh Bac is the leader of the attack as a striker.
Even when the two strikers Quoc Viet and Viktor Le did not score, U23 Vietnam still won all 4 matches thanks to the brilliance of other outstanding individuals. Cong Phuong (19 years old) was also the one who "nailed" the final match against U23 Indonesia with the only goal in the 37th minute.
Previously, in the semi-final match against U23 Philippines, Cong Phuong also played outstandingly and caused a lot of trouble on the right wing in his first start. New players such as right-back Anh Quan and central midfielder Xuan Bac also played excellently.
But the biggest strength of U23 Vietnam is their fighting spirit. Facing the relentless pressure from the home team and the enthusiastic audience at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, the young Vietnamese players still stood firm.
While the Indonesian players played hot-temperedly and aggressively, the young Vietnamese players remained focused on playing football. Specifically, when Dinh Bac was choked by the Indonesian U23 players, he and his teammates remained calm. Only by seeing Dinh Bac's scratched neck during the post-match interview can one see the ability to stay calm of the "Best Player of the Tournament".
Coach Kim Sang Sik still has the important task of helping U22 Vietnam win the 33rd SEA Games gold medal - Photo: ANH KHOA
Confidence for SEA Games 33
Evaluating the Vietnam U23 team, expert Doan Minh Xuong said that Vietnamese football has a generation of young, potential players who have made great progress in their skills and are completely capable of winning a gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games.
He said: "Comparing the current U23 generation in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is one of the strongest teams. Watching the final match, we can see that the quality of young Vietnamese players is much better than Indonesia. Even though we let U23 Indonesia control the ball, we were the team that controlled the game. The mentality and competitive spirit of this generation has matured a lot, even more cunning."
Although Thailand and Indonesia are expected to have changes in their squads at the 33rd SEA Games, Mr. Xuong also believes that Vietnam is still the most promising candidate. "Thailand has home field advantage and can add better squads. Indonesia can also add 3 players from the national team who are old enough to participate in the 33rd SEA Games: center-back Justin Hubner, midfielder Ivar Jenner, and Marselino Ferdinan. However, U23 Vietnam is still the biggest candidate," he said.
Of course, U23 Vietnam still has things to improve in the coming time. Specifically, according to coach Nguyen Duc Thang: "The players participating in this tournament lack midfielders who can organize and control the game. We have many potential attacking players but we need to improve more to be able to play better in the future."
However, with the ability to coach and organize the game well of coach Kim Sang Sik, U23 Vietnam can still confidently aim for the 33rd SEA Games gold medal. After the training trip in Ba Ria - Vung Tau , the Korean coach eliminated a series of experienced names, notably right-back Ho Van Cuong and attacking midfielder Dinh Xuan Tien. Instead, he chose new and young players, such as Cong Phuong.
And Mr. Kim proved himself right with his choices through the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/u23-viet-nam-tu-tin-san-hcv-sea-games-33-20250731073641704.htm
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