In the semi-finals, U22 Vietnam defeated U22 Philippines with a score of 2-0. Both goals were scored in the final minutes of the match, thereby helping coach Kim Sang-sik's team reach the final of the 33rd SEA Games.
Our opponent is U22 Thailand, the team that beat U22 Malaysia 1-0 in the semi-finals, thereby bringing a fateful final match between Vietnamese and Thai football.
Ahead of the gold medal match, Thailand's leading sports newspaper Thairath published an article commenting on this match, and at the same time assessed the superiority of U22 Vietnam over the host team U22 Thailand.
U22 Vietnam entered the final with 2 goals against U22 Philippines. Despite a tense match, U22 Vietnam still proved their mettle and effectiveness to advance to the final match.
With U22 Thailand, we only defeated U22 Malaysia with a goal from Yosakorn Burapha's classy free kick, while the playing style of U22 Thailand did not leave much of an impression.
Many players played below the expectations of many Thai fans, even though we played with more players very early when the U22 Malaysia player received 2 yellow cards.
With the advantage in terms of numbers, U22 Thailand should have controlled the match well and scored more goals, but on the contrary, we let U22 Malaysia create more dangerous attack situations, commented Thairath newspaper of Thailand.
According to Thairath, the reason is that U22 Thailand did not have the optimal force at the 33rd SEA Games. Because this tournament is not part of the FIFA system, many players have to serve the club and the Thai U22 team at the same time, so coach Thawatchai Damrong-ongtrakul is forced to rotate the squad to best suit the needs of his team as well as his tactics.
Evaluating the U22 Vietnam team, Thairath commented that coach Kim Sang-sik's team is much better than the U22 Thailand team in terms of physical strength, because this team was given all the conditions at the 33rd SEA Games.
It must be admitted that U22 Vietnam is performing very well at the 33rd SEA Games with an extremely fulfilling physical foundation. In particular, many players with the surname Nguyen have shown outstanding playing style and left many impressions in the playing style of U22 Vietnam", the leading sports newspaper in Thailand commented.
Although reviewing the "advancement" of U22 Vietnam, Thairath also confirmed that U22 Thailand will retain the gold medal in men's football at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand.
"U22 Thailand did not play well, our performance was not really impressive. But that does not mean we are forced to continue to lose to U22 Vietnam right at home.
The 33rd SEA Games football final only takes place in one match in a knockout format, and in such a match, everything can happen.
Don't forget that the level of U22 and U23 football in Southeast Asia between countries is quite similar. It will all depend on the "head", that is, the preparation of tactics, the way the player operates and the choice of personnel of the coach. Finally, I would like to make a prediction that the 33rd SEA Games gold medal will have to stay in Thailand, the author of the article concluded.
