U23 Southeast Asia Tournament: Waiting for the exciting semi-finals

After the group stage of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship ended, experts and fans have not yet given their views on youth football in the region. Perhaps we have to wait until the semi-finals, where the teams are more evenly matched, for the tournament to be truly exciting.

U23 Vietnam is expected to explode in the semi-final match against the Philippines - Photo: ANH KHOA

In general, most of the matches in the group stage were not very professional, average speed, and could not satisfy the fans. This is also understandable when the level of the top teams and the rest is quite different. The U23 teams of Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia do not need to play too well to easily win.

Don't rush

It is difficult to judge the strength of the teams by just looking at the group stage results. In all three groups, there is a team that is superior to the rest, so that team can easily calculate the long term. They do not need to use all their strength to pass the group stage while still hiding their strength and preserving their forces. It is very possible that it is not until the decisive moment like the semi-finals that the teams will truly show their strength.

Winning may not be enough to judge a team, but losing is enough to be a warning. A typical example is U23 Malaysia, when this team was eliminated early in the group stage despite being considered a championship candidate. U23 Malaysia had a disappointing performance when losing 0-2 to the Philippines, drawing 0-0 with Indonesia and only winning 7-1 against Brunei.

The reality of U23 Malaysia shows a lack of preparation in both tactics and physical strength. The failure of young Malaysian players occurred in the context of the national team being upgraded with quality naturalized players. This is a warning bell for Malaysian football people in parallel development between shortcuts and youth training.

Coach Kim Sang Sik aims to defend the gold medal with U23 Vietnam - Photo: VFF

Waiting for the big guys to show off

In contrast to the gloomy atmosphere of Malaysian youth football, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia still maintain a generation of young players with good skills, ready to supplement the national team. In general, although they are still not perfect in terms of playing skills, spirit and competitive spirit, the young players have made progress in their approach to the game and all have quite modern playing styles.

Notable among the teams in the semi-finals is the U23 Philippines. They entered the tournament with many student players. However, these students received quite systematic football training abroad.

In fact, when entering the field, they did not show that they were inferior to professional players. The proof is that U23 Philippines defeated Malaysia in the group stage and only lost narrowly to host Indonesia. With what they have shown, Philippines is considered a big obstacle for U23 Vietnam in the upcoming semi-final match.

This can be seen as a positive direction for Philippine football, because previously they only naturalized mature players. As a result, after exhausting that generation, Philippine football returned to its original starting point.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/giai-u23-dong-nam-a-cho-vong-ban-ket-hap-dan-20250723232513688.htm