U23 Southeast Asia Semi-Final: Why was the Vietnam vs Philippines match postponed?

Southeast Asia U23 Semi-Final: Why was the Vietnam vs Philippines match pushed early? - photo 1

According to an update from the Organizing Committee of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, the first semi-final match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Philippines will take place at 4:00 p.m. on July 25 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (Indonesia), instead of 5:00 p.m. as originally planned.

The Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) said that the adjustment of the match time is to ensure the organization when both semi-final matches are arranged at the same stadium on the same day. The match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Philippines was moved up to prepare for the case of extra time, penalty shootout or handling unexpected incidents.

The remaining semi-final match between U23 Thailand and host U23 Indonesia will take place at 8:00 p.m. the same day, also at Bung Karno Stadium.

At the end of the group stage, U23 Vietnam won the top spot in Group B thanks to a perfect record, winning all 6 points, scoring 5 and conceding 1 goal.

After defeating U23 Laos in the opening match with a score of 3-0, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team faced more difficulties in the match against U23 Cambodia.

However, the bravery of Van Khang, Van Truong, Dinh Bac... was shown at the right time to help the Golden Star Warriors win 2-1, thereby maintaining the top position and the only place in the semi-finals. Here, U23 Vietnam will face U23 Philippines.

Philippine youth football is often not highly regarded in regional tournaments. However, in this participation, the team under the direction of coach Garrath McPherson made everyone look at them with different eyes right from the first match.

Thanks to reasonable gameplay and the ability to take advantage of counter-attack situations, U23 Philippines defeated a stronger opponent, U23 Malaysia, with a score of 2-0.

That positive result became an important premise to help Otu Banatao and his teammates finish second in Group A, thereby winning a ticket to the next round for the second-place team with the best record.

The first semi-final match between U23 Vietnam vs U23 Philippines will take place at 4:00 p.m. on July 25 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta.

Although the opponent has proven to be difficult thanks to their tight defensive play, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team still promise to find a solution thanks to their experienced team, which has competed in many large and small tournaments.

Winning a ticket to the final and getting closer to defending the title may not be an easy task, but if we compare U23 Philippines with U23 Indonesia (first in Group A) or U23 Thailand (first in Group C), our opponents in the semi-finals still seem to have an easier time.

In the remaining match starting at 8:00 p.m. the same day, also at the "fire pit" Gelora Bung Karno, host Indonesia will create a fierce match with their fateful opponent Thailand.

This is a match where the young team of the archipelago is considered to be superior thanks to home field advantage and a somewhat sharper playing style.

It will not be surprising if fans witness the dream final match between U23 Vietnam vs U23 Indonesia.

Schedule of U23 Southeast Asia 2025 semi-finals:

16:00 July 25: U23 Vietnam vs U23 Philippines