SEA Games 29 group stage: Will there be any fishermen who benefit?

(Baonghean.vn) - According to the SEA Games 29 group stage schedule, the U22 Vietnam team will face the two weakest opponents in the group, East Timor and Cambodia, before meeting Thailand, Indonesia and finally the Philippines. Experts say that this is a favorable schedule for coach Huu Thang and his team.

Experts say that Group B is divided into 3 groups, U22 Thailand is at a superior level and will easily get a ticket to continue. East Timor and Cambodia football have made a lot of progress but clearly there is still a gap with the top football teams in Southeast Asia.

The teams of Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam will take advantage of the opportunity to compete for the second ticket. Thus, having a favorable match schedule will help us calculate our path in the group stage of SEA Games 29.

Favorable schedule

The organizing committee has scheduled the men's football event of the 29th SEA Games to take place from August 14-29. The four stadiums chosen by Malaysia for the football matches are Bunit Jalil, Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur and Selayang Municipal Council. Accordingly, U22 Vietnam will face opponents rated from weak to strong.

Coach Huu Thang is full of confidence with his students attending the 29th SEA Games. Photo: Dung Nguyen

U22 Vietnam will play the opening match against U22 East Timor and then U22 Cambodia. Obviously, U22 East Timor and U22 Cambodia are the two teams considered the weakest in the group. Coach Huu Thang and his team will start "adjusting the target" and have the task of getting enough 6 points, U22 Vietnam even has to win big to compare the goal difference with the remaining 3 opponents.

Experience shows that weaker teams will be "tougher" after the first matches, meaning they will know how to limit the number of goals conceded when facing Indonesia and the Philippines.

It was not until the third match that U22 Vietnam had to face a real challenge named Thailand. At this time, the group stage was relatively clear for the coaching staff to calculate how to face the strongest team in the group, choosing the drop point with the most likely direct opponent, Indonesia, in the fourth match. The last opponent of U22 Vietnam, U22 Philippines, was considered to be weaker than us.

Is it profitable?

The answer is yes. In addition to meeting two "tough" opponents in the warm-up match, U22 Vietnam also has another advantage when the three teams of Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have to fight each other right from the start.

In the first round, Indonesia and the Philippines had to fight hard, followed by Thailand and Indonesia. According to the schedule, Indonesia, our direct competitor, will face the Philippines, Thailand, East Timor, Vietnam and Cambodia, which is much more difficult than the schedule of U22 Vietnam.

Schedule of men's football group stage of SEA Games 29. Photo: Dung Nguyen

With a favorable match schedule, U22 Vietnam is completely confident that they can aim for one of the two tickets in Group B to play in the semi-finals of the 29th SEA Games. The most important thing is still confidence, overcoming yourself regardless of who the opponent is, that is the quality of a great team, what Coach Huu Thang is aiming for.

"The most important thing is that we have to relieve the pressure on the players, focus on playing well in each match before thinking about the next match," Coach Huu Thang shared with Nghe An Newspaper about the opportunities of U22 Vietnam at SEA Games 29.

According to the plan, tomorrow (July 13), coach Huu Thang and his team will move to Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the U23 Asian qualifiers. In this tournament, U22 Vietnam is in the same group with the U22 teams of Korea, East Timor and Macau.

Immediately after this tournament, U22 Vietnam will travel to Hanoi to play a friendly match with K.League stars (July 29). Next, coach Huu Thang and his team will fly to Korea for a 10-day training session before flying straight to Malaysia to attend the 29th SEA Games./.

An Thanh