The fact that U22 Malaysia rose to the top of Group B, with the same 3 points as U22 Vietnam but with a better goal difference has put coach Kim Sang-sik and his team in a rather difficult situation.
However, the surprising loss of U22 Indonesia to U22 Philippines in Group C caused a reversal and opened up a big advantage for U22 Vietnam.
U22 Indonesia from the position of candidate to continue fell into a dangerous position, forced to win big against U22 Myanmar and wait for the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Malaysia to end without a draw.
Because the maximum score that the 2 second-placed teams in Group A and C have is only 3 points, while if they draw in the match with U22 Malaysia, U22 Vietnam will have 4 points and be the second-placed team with the best results.
However, coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed right before the match that his players did not enter the match with a peaceful mind, but they would play with the highest spirit.
According to Mr. Kim, this is not just a qualifying match, but a knockout match, winning is a mandatory goal for U22 Vietnam.
In addition, defeating U22 Malaysia will help U22 Vietnam win the top spot in Group B, thereby avoiding strong opponent U22 Thailand in the semi-finals.
At that time, the opponent of U22 Vietnam will be U22 Philippines, the team that won the top spot in Group C after defeating both U22 Myanmar and U22 Indonesia. However, U22 Philippines is still an easier opponent for U22 Vietnam than U22 Thailand.
The fact that U22 Vietnam did not have a really impressive start against U22 Laos is also understandable because the first match is always very difficult. U22 Vietnam also had a long break, followed and studied the playing style of U22 Malaysia to have reasonable options for this encounter.
According to information from the U22 Vietnam coaching staff, all 23 of our players are in good spirits and excited to prepare for the decisive match with U22 Malaysia.
According to Mr. Kim Sang-sik, U22 Vietnam felt "damaged" by their self-respect after the opening match, so they were determined to win the match against U22 Malaysia, thereby entering the semi-finals in the top spot with 2 wins.
In terms of history, the last time the two teams met at a SEA Games was 2 years ago, at the 32nd SEA Games held in Cambodia. U22 Vietnam then defeated U22 Malaysia with a score of 2-1 to thereby qualify for the semi-finals.
