Group A U.23 Southeast Asia 2025 will compete fiercely
At 5:00 p.m. today, July 15, 2025 , U.23 Malaysia will officially enter the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asia campaign, facing U.23 Philippines . A victory will be a favorable start for Malaysia - a team with the ambition to overthrow U.23 Vietnam to become the champion of the Southeast Asian youth arena. This is a football tournament that Malaysia has never won.
Meanwhile, at 8pm, the home team U.23 Indonesia will face U.23 Brunei. Victory is within reach for the team of Dutch coach Vanenburg, the only question is how big the gap is.
The first match is very important for U.23 Malaysia and U.23 Indonesia, but is also especially noteworthy for U.23 Vietnam because both can be potential opponents to face coach Kim Sang-sik and his team in the following rounds.
Schedule of the group stage of U.23 Southeast Asia 2025
PHOTO: FPT PLAY
In the match considered the "final" of Group A between U.23 Malaysia and U.23 Indonesia on July 18 at 5:00 p.m., coach Kim Sang-sik will have to watch closely because both teams will give their all for the top spot in the group.
As for Vietnam U.23, they are in Group B with Laos U.23 and Cambodia U.23 - two familiar opponents with little chance of causing surprises. The top spot is quite secure in the hands of Coach Kim and his students.
Coach Kim Sang-sik will have to carefully study both U.23 Malaysia and U.23 Indonesia.
PHOTO: MINH TU
The problem for coach Kim Sang-sik
Malaysia U.23 came to this tournament with a squad that did not rely too much on naturalized players, which partly reflected the change in strategy of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Recently, Malaysian football has been criticized for its massive naturalization policy, but in this tournament, the team decided to reduce the participation of naturalized players to create opportunities for young domestic players. FAM wants to take advantage of the Southeast Asian U.23 tournament as an opportunity to develop its youth force, focusing on training new factors, especially domestic players.
Although Malaysia may not use their optimal force, with determination and careful preparation, they are still a formidable opponent in the journey to defend the U.23 Vietnam throne.
Striker Hokky Caraka (9) of U.23 Indonesia also has experience facing Vietnamese players.
PHOTO: AFC
Meanwhile, U.23 Indonesia also did not hide their ambition to win the tournament at home. Coach Gerald Vanenburg declared the goal is to win all matches to become the champion and then aim for the 33rd SEA Games.
In the list of 25 players of U.23 Indonesia, the notable presence is Jens Raven, a 1.89 m tall naturalized striker of Dutch origin, currently playing for Dordrecht Club (Netherlands). The U.23 Indonesia squad participating in this tournament has many experienced names, including Muhammad Ferarri, Kadek Arel, Dony Pamungkas, and Arkhan Fikri. These are all players who have played for the national team and participated in the AFF Cup 2024. In the most recent U.23 Southeast Asian Championship, they lost to U.23 Vietnam in the final and accepted second place.
Studying the opponents and analyzing the tactics of both teams in Group A will help U.23 Vietnam prepare best for important confrontations in the group stage. After the recent 0-4 defeat to the Malaysian team, fans certainly do not want to see Vietnam's youth football team continue to be inferior to Malaysian or Indonesian football.
Matches within the framework of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship will be broadcast live on FPT Play.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hom-nay-u23-malaysia-va-indonesia-ra-quan-hlv-kim-can-soi-ky-xem-tren-kenh-nao-185250714182737475.htm
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