Vietnam U23 team takes a 'change of pace' before the bronze medal match.

Coach Miura only had the team do a light training session this afternoon, then they went to a restaurant for dinner, in order to help his players regain their best spirits before the match against U23 Indonesia tomorrow.

According to the original plan, only the reserve players from the semi-final match were supposed to train at Nanyang Polytechnic this afternoon. However, during the team meeting before training, the starting players requested to train with their teammates to share their sadness and strengthen team spirit. Coach Miura happily accepted this request.

During the approximately 45-minute training session, Coach Miura did not give out tactical exercises as before. Instead, the Japanese coach only had the players play small drills, play keep-away, and jog.

The U23 Vietnamese players are gradually regaining their best spirits and are determined to win the bronze medal at this year's SEA Games. Photo: Duc Dong.

Players with minor injuries, such as Cong Phuong, Huy Toan, and Ngoc Hai, have all recovered and are training normally. "In football, there are bound to be collisions, and the players only suffered minor muscle pain. After applying ice, they fully recovered," team manager Duong Vu Lam told VnExpress.

Mr. Lam also emphasized that the U23 Vietnam players will overcome the disappointment of the semi-final defeat: "In football, if you create many opportunities but don't score, the opponent will finish you off. That's normal. Therefore, the whole team is regaining its spirits to prepare as best as possible for the bronze medal match against U23 Indonesia."

"The path of football is long for these players, it's not over after one semi-final match. They still have a future ahead of them as the national team plays in the World Cup qualifiers, then the U23 Asian Championship finals… Therefore, the whole team needs to forget this disappointment, stand up like warriors and fight with the spirit of 'not being arrogant in victory, not being discouraged in defeat'," the team manager added.

To help the players relax, on the way back from training, Coach Miura announced that the whole team would go to a fancy restaurant for dinner instead of going back to the hotel as usual. The whole team was delighted with this news, because last night, after the semi-final defeat, many players had skipped meals and suffered from insomnia.

At 1 PM tomorrow, June 15th, Hanoi time, the Vietnam U23 team will face the Indonesia U23 team in the bronze medal match of the men's football tournament at the 28th SEA Games.

According to VNE