U.23 Vietnam arrived safely in Indonesia, practiced on the first day: Conquering the regional peak

This morning, July 14, the U.23 Vietnam team flew to Indonesia to test their limits in the first official tournament led by coach Kim Sang-sik, to affirm the position of youth football in Southeast Asia.

MR. KIM LAUNCHES CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND

As reported by Thanh Nien, at 9:55 a.m. on July 14, the U.23 Vietnam team departed for Indonesia, officially conquering the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament. After a few hours of flying, Mr. Kim and his team arrived safely and had their first training session in Indonesia at 6 p.m. the same day.

At the airport, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team took about 1 hour to complete immigration procedures before moving to their accommodation at the Movenpick Hotel - a convenient base, about 50 minutes by bus from the airport and only about 5 km from the team's training ground.

After returning to the hotel, the team took the opportunity to have a meal to replenish their energy for the first training session in a foreign land. To ensure the players' physical strength after the long journey, coach Kim Sang-sik decided to adjust the schedule, giving the team more time to rest and delaying the training session later than originally planned.

Le Victor and teammates in Indonesia

Young men embark on a great challenge

U.23 team in your country

Since arriving in Vietnam in May 2024, coach Kim Sang-sik has mainly focused on working with the Vietnamese team, with the highlight being the 2024 AFF Cup championship, helping Vietnamese football revive the fighting spirit and confidence that had been eroded under coach Philippe Troussier. For more than a year, U.23 Vietnam has been focusing in parallel when being assigned to assistant Dinh Hong Vinh as temporary manager. But from now on, Mr. Kim will pay special attention to building the framework and playing style for U.23 Vietnam to aim for a series of important goals ahead. The U.23 Southeast Asian Championship will be an important stepping stone for the U.23 Vietnam team to test their strength and experiment with positions. This can be considered a perfect warm-up step before Vietnam plays the qualifying round of the U.23 Asian Cup (from September 3 to 9), the 33rd SEA Games (December 2025), the U.23 Asian Cup (January 2026) and the 2026 ASIAD (September 2026)... Besides, the positive performance of U.23 Vietnam in Southeast Asia and Asia will have great significance, helping Vietnamese football choose its own path amidst the wave of naturalization from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines...

Vietnam U.23 team will face strong pressure at the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament

PHOTO: VFF

For coach Kim Sang-sik personally, the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament will mark his first official tournament with the Vietnam U.23 team. The Korean coach shared: "I always encourage the players to see the Southeast Asian U.23 tournament as an opportunity to grow and develop, rather than as an achievement. This tournament is also an opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate the players' abilities and find combinations for tactical cohesion. The tournament in Indonesia is a valuable opportunity for young players to gain international experience."

U.23 v OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGE

Indonesia's decision to abandon the original Gelora Delta stadium in Sidoarjo and move to the "fire pan" Gelora Bung Karno (Jarkata) and Patriot Candrabhaga stadium (Bekasi, which hosted the 2018 ASIAD) shows the seriousness of the host country. Bola newspaper affirmed that the only task of Dutch coach Gerald Vanenburg is to avenge the defeat against U.23 Vietnam in the penalty shootout in the 2023 final. Another defeated team of Vietnam, the U.23 Thailand team, is also ambitious when the new head coach Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul declared that he only sees U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Indonesia as the main opponents. Certainly, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will come to Indonesia in the spotlight, clearly feeling the desire to overthrow from their opponents. This will be pressure, a challenge, but also an opportunity for U.23 Vietnam to test their endurance and mettle to push their limits.

Commentator Vu Quang Huy commented: "Everyone feels that the two opponents Indonesia and Thailand are determined to overthrow Vietnam. The host team Indonesia does not want the cup to leave their country, while Thailand's change of coach shows great determination. But the U.23 Vietnam force is relatively experienced, some of whom have played 1-2 U.23 Southeast Asian tournaments, attended the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023, and even regularly played for the Vietnam team. Frankly speaking, coach Philippe Troussier failed but still left value when many young players were tested early and accumulated a lot of experience. I also do not think that Mr. Kim will hide his cards to experiment, because the opponents of the same age group all know each other quite well. In fact, the U.23 Vietnam players will have more motivation when the Vietnam team is losing to the massively naturalized Indonesian and Malaysian teams. Success in the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament will partly indicate a good measure of internal strength, helping fans ease their impatience. If U.23 Vietnam wins the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship three times in a row, it will be strong evidence that we are still on the right track, to continue to adapt to the general trend from overseas Vietnamese and quality naturalized players like Xuan Son. But in terms of youth football, I think coach Kim Sang-sik and his team do not need to think too much, just frankly show their good qualities and the results will come."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-den-indonesia-an-toan-tap-ngay-ngay-dau-chinh-phuc-dinh-cao-khu-vuc-185250713202825464.htm