In the opening match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, U23 Vietnam won 3-0 against U23 Laos. Coach Kim Sang-sik commented: “U23 Laos played tight defense from the first minutes. However, my players tried hard to find opportunities and scored the opening goal. The important thing is that we maintained a balance between defense and attack to control the game and preserve the result.”
According to the schedule, on July 22, U23 Vietnam will face U23 Cambodia in the final match of the group stage to decide the ticket to the semi-finals. With the current situation, U23 Vietnam only needs a draw to get a direct ticket to the semi-finals. But coach Kim Sang-sik and his students will definitely aim for victory. Because in the group, U23 Vietnam is highly appreciated as the defending champion, victory is also a morale boost.
According to experts, the U23 Vietnam team will win, the question is how big the margin of victory will be for the players. This is also an opportunity for Mr. Kim Sang-sik to give opportunities to players who have not had many opportunities to play.
With the current strength, the ticket to the semi-finals is within reach of U23 Vietnam. Therefore, from now on, the thing that coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are calculating is to see who the opponents are in the semi-finals. According to the bracket, U23 Vietnam will have the opportunity to meet opponents in Group A: U23 Indonesia, U23 Malaysia and U23 Philippines. Among them, U23 Indonesia is considered the leading candidate for the championship.
Previously, Mr. Kim Sang-sik also had an assessment of the opponent: “U23 Indonesia is very strong and well organized. However, we have only played one match. The whole team needs to focus on each match according to the plan and set goals. This is the most important thing right now, we should not think further. We do not care who the opponent is. The important thing is to focus on playing the right strategy and promoting our own abilities well.”
The U23 Vietnam team came to the tournament with the goal of defending the championship. The group stage was considered quite easy but not without problems. In the opening match against U23 Laos, the ineffective performance of the U23 Vietnam strikers was a much-mentioned issue. This forced Mr. Kim Sang-sik to make a calculation.
Midfielder Cong Phuong said: “Whether you are a defender or a striker, the most important thing is still the team’s victory. Whoever scores a goal is aiming for the same goal. I can play in many different positions. That is my advantage and I am always ready when asked by the coaching staff.”
Midfielder Nguyen Cong Phuong also said: “The first match is always difficult. In the first half, we did not play well, coach Kim Sang-sik also reminded and encouraged the whole team to improve. After the match, the whole team sat down to review the entire match tape to learn from experience, but the coaching staff will spend time analyzing more carefully in the upcoming professional meetings.”
U23 Vietnam will face U23 Cambodia at 8:00 p.m. on July 22. Before entering the semi-finals, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team need a convincing result against U23 Cambodia, an opponent that is rated much lower. This is the time for the defending champion's spirit to speak up.
Vietnam U16 prepares for Southeast Asian U16 Women's Championship
Under the guidance of Japanese head coach Okiyama Masahiko, the list of 30 athletes sent to the Department of Physical Training and Sports includes Hanoi (7 athletes), Ho Chi Minh City (10 athletes), Ha Nam (9 athletes), Vietnam Football Federation (2 athletes) and Thai Nguyen with 1 athlete.
According to the plan, the Vietnam U16 women's team will gather on the morning of July 23 and have their first training session in the afternoon of the same day at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center ( Hanoi ). The team will be stationed here and have a number of friendly matches before leaving for Indonesia to participate in the official tournament.
As the head coach of both young women's teams participating in important tournaments in 2025, including the U20 women's team participating in the 2026 U20 Asian Women's Qualifiers and the U16 women's team participating in the Southeast Asian tournament both in August, Japanese expert Okiyama Masahiko will have 2 busy months. However, with the training location also being the venue for the Group B matches of the U20 Asian Women's Qualifiers, the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, having many favorable conditions, coach Okiyama Masahiko will certainly have maximum support from the assistant team of both teams including experienced former players for his work in the coming time.
On July 21, the Indonesian Football Federation - the host country of the 2025 Southeast Asian U16 Women's Championship - held an online draw. As a result, U16 Vietnam is in Group B with two teams U16 Myanmar and U16 Cambodia. Meanwhile, Group A includes host U16 Indonesia, U16 Malaysia, U16 Timor-Leste. Group C is considered attractive with opponents U16 Thailand, U16 Singapore and U16 Australia.
Returning after a 5-year absence, the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's U16 Football Tournament still maintains 9 participating teams (the tournament was held in 2017, 2018, 2019). Another difference from the previous 3 seasons is that the 9 teams are divided into 3 groups instead of 2 groups, competing in a round-robin to calculate ranking points.
The top three teams and the best second-placed team will advance to the semi-finals. The 2025 AFF U-16 Women's Championship will be held from August 18 to August 30 in Indonesia.
HH
Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/u23-viet-nam-huong-den-vong-ban-ket-i775517/
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