From controversy and doubt
U23 Vietnam entered the tournament as the defending champion and the goal was to successfully defend the title won 2 years ago. In general, the force of U23 Vietnam is not necessarily stronger than previous tournaments, but Van Khang, Van Truong, Thai Son, Quoc Viet, Dinh Bac still bring certain confidence.
The 3-0 victory on the opening day against Laos only brought satisfaction with the result. The developments on the field make it difficult for fans to rest assured. A series of positions such as Thai Son, Phi Hoang or Anh Quan continuously passed poorly and made mistakes. Meanwhile, important goals came from the central defender position like Nguyen Hieu Minh.
However, Hieu Minh himself continuously lost the ball, making individual mistakes against Cambodia and the Philippines. In the final match of the group stage and semi-finals, U23 Vietnam did not finish well, wasting many scoring opportunities. Although the defense has many quality names, it once again revealed many gaps.
The semi-final match between Thailand and Indonesia brought a match with high expertise, attractive in terms of developments. U23 Vietnam went through an unlikely journey and the only chance of losing the tournament - the final match appeared with doubts from experts.
Title and recognition
It's not without a positive moment ahead of the game at Gelora Bung Karno. First, U23 Vietnam began to show good understanding and coordination in the attack front from the semi-final against the Philippines. The 2-1 score did not reflect the game situation, because U23 Vietnam had a bad shot and was unlucky.
Similar to other matches, Indonesia showed a strong playing style and fiery fighting spirit at home. But the team from the archipelago no longer controlled the game as easily as when they met Thailand. U23 Vietnam still knows how to keep the ball and regulate the match with the duo Xuan Bac - Van Truong in the middle of the field.
The defense under the command of goalkeeper Trung Kien is no longer at fault. When one person was overcome, the other person was present to counter the opponent. At a sensitive moment, Trung Kien himself reacted miraculously to save U23 Vietnam from conceding a goal. In the final minutes, the defenders and their teammates successfully defended the result.
In the next start, Nguyen Cong Phuong took advantage of the almost unique opportunity of U23 Vietnam. He quickly finished to score the opening goal for the away team.
Overall, the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament was tense, tight and there were few shots that could be converted into goals.
After many controversies, the bravery of Khuat Van Khang and his teammates was recognized. U23 Vietnam won the championship in doubt and they convinced everyone.
