By defeating Cambodia, U.23 Vietnam can face the "challenger" Philippines

In case U.23 Vietnam wins the first place in Group B after the final round, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team's opponent in the semi-finals will likely be the "dark horse" team of this year's tournament.

After the opening match with a 3-0 victory over U.23 Laos, the U.23 Vietnam team is currently at the top of Group B with 3 points. In the final match taking place at 8:00 p.m. tonight (July 22), coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will face U.23 Cambodia. The goal of the Golden Star team is nothing other than a victory over the representative from the land of pagodas, and at the same time, winning a ticket to the semi-finals as the top of Group B.

Football is full of surprises. U.23 Vietnam cannot be complacent, but in reality, winning 3 points against U.23 Cambodia is completely within the reach of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team.

U.23 Vietnam has a good chance of winning a ticket to the semi-finals with the top position in Group B.

PHOTO: NGUYEN KHANG

The question is, if they pass the group stage as the top team, who will U.23 Vietnam face in the semi-finals?

Before the final round of the group stage of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament, the most likely scenario is that U.23 Vietnam will beat U.23 Cambodia in Group B, while U.23 Thailand will beat U.23 Myanmar in Group C. At that time, U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Thailand will both enter the semi-finals as group winners. Meanwhile, the wild card to the semi-finals for the second-placed team with the best record will go to U.23 Philippines (3 points, goal difference +1).

According to the pre-determined scenario, if Group A has 2 names advancing, the first team of Group B will face the second team of Group A in the semi-finals. Thus, if entering the semi-finals as the first team of Group B, the U.23 Vietnam team will likely face the U.23 Philippines in the round for the 4 strongest teams of the tournament.

At the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament this year, U.23 Philippines is considered a formidable obstacle, having caused a big surprise in the opening match. U.23 Philippines was not highly rated before the tournament, but caused a shock when defeating U.23 Malaysia with a score of 2-0. It was this valuable victory over U.23 Malaysia that helped U.23 Philippines have a bright chance of reaching the semi-finals and become a "challenger" for teams wanting to win a high position in this tournament.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thang-duoc-campuchia-u23-viet-nam-co-the-dung-ke-thach-thuc-philippines-185250722124343393.htm