The training session took place at Madya Stadium, located near Bung Karno Stadium (Indonesia) and not far from the team's training ground. However, due to the frequent traffic jams in Jakarta, the whole team had to travel nearly 50 minutes by bus to get to this location.
Today, Group A of the tournament also kicked off with matches between Malaysia - Philippines and Indonesia - Brunei. These are all teams that can become opponents of U23 Vietnam when they pass the group stage.
Therefore, coach Kim Sang-sik and some assistants directly went to the stadium to watch these matches to observe and evaluate potential opponents. The training session of U23 Vietnam was therefore assigned to assistant Lee Jung-soo to operate according to the set out curriculum.
At this training session, the amount of movement was significantly increased compared to the first training session, focusing on group coordination, status conversion as well as checking and reviewing the lineup to prepare for the match with U23 Laos. The training atmosphere was very positive as the players tried their best to compete for opportunities to play, thereby contributing to creating healthy competition and a high level of determination in the whole team.
In an interview with the press before the training session, defender Pham Ly Duc shared: "The spirit of the brothers in the team is very good. Everyone is determined in each training session. The coaching staff always reminds everyone to stay healthy and ensure the best physical condition before entering the tournament. On the first day of arriving in Indonesia, the weather was quite similar to Vietnam. Yesterday's training session was mainly to recover and regain physical condition after a long move. As of today, everyone is in better physical condition to start professional training".
Ly Duc also highly appreciated the quality of training conditions in Indonesia, and affirmed that the whole team is aiming for the highest goal of winning the championship.
Coach Kim Sang-sik always requires each player to play with more than 100% spirit and determination. Although there was sometimes a slight pain on the training ground, with the encouragement of the coaching staff, we always tried to get up and continue to practice non-stop. The championship in 2022 and 2023 is a source of pride and motivation for the whole team to strive to protect their achievements this season. We are quite comfortable, not under any great pressure, Ly Duc shared.
The 2003-born defender added that U23 Vietnam is becoming more and more connected after more than 2 weeks of training together, with significant improvements in coordination skills, movement to communication on the field. In addition, the experience of many players competing in the V-League is also considered a big advantage when entering this year's tournament.
The opening match of U23 Vietnam vs U23 Laos will take place at 5:00 p.m. on July 19.
