Coach Kim Sang-sik: 'U23 Vietnam will compete with the highest determination to defend the championship'

On the afternoon of July 15, in Indonesia, the press conference before the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship took place.

Speaking before the tournament, coach Kim Sang-sik expressed his determination to join U23 Vietnam in winning the championship. "I feel very honored to be with U23 Vietnam in this tournament. We have won this tournament twice, so there is a bit of pressure. However, the whole team will try our best and train hard to achieve the best results."

Assessing the situation of this year's tournament, Mr. Kim emphasized the strength of the two heavyweight opponents, Thailand and host Indonesia: "Thailand has many players with very good individual skills, while Indonesia stands out with its strong physical foundation. These are two very strong teams and will be direct competitors for the championship."

Unlike previous tournaments, this time, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) did not assign the team to a temporary coach but directly assigned the national team head coach - Mr. Kim Sang-sik to lead the U23 Vietnam team. This is considered a move showing the great determination of Vietnamese football in defending the Southeast Asian throne.

Coach Kim also affirmed the team's serious spirit and attitude: "We always maintain maximum concentration, considering each match as a final. The team's goal is to compete with the highest determination in each match."

This year's tournament applies a rather strict competition format, with only 4 teams entering the semi-finals, including the top 3 teams in each group and the second-placed team with the best record. Notably, with Group A having 4 teams, the second-placed team's results will not be counted when facing the bottom-placed team. In the event of teams having the same number of points, the head-to-head criteria will be given top priority for ranking.

The Vietnam U23 team has been in Indonesia since the afternoon of July 14 and is completing the final preparations before embarking on the journey to defend the championship title.

The 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will take place from July 15 at two locations in Jakarta and Bekasi (Indonesia), with the participation of 10 teams. According to the schedule, the Vietnam U23 team will meet Laos U23 on July 19 and Cambodia U23 on July 22.

Notably, the team was given a break in the first match, which created favorable conditions for the coaching staff to have more time to observe, analyze the opponent and come up with appropriate tactics./.