On the afternoon of December 9, the U22 Vietnam team continued its training session to prepare for the final match of Group B of the 33rd SEA Games men's football tournament. Before practice, midfielder Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong shared his confidence and great determination in participating in the regional arena for the first time.
Quoc Cuong is a player of the Ho Chi Minh City Police team, he is in outstanding form in the V.League 2025-2026, said the whole team is focusing on getting 3 points against U22 Malaysia.
He emphasized: Coach Kim Sang-sik and the whole team set a common goal of winning. We are preparing very carefully and looking forward to the match with the highest spirit.
At the first SEA Games of his career, Quoc Cuong set a goal of competing well whenever given the opportunity. He expressed: "What I expect is to perform well when I have the opportunity to enter the field and contribute to the biggest goal of the whole team, which is to win the gold medal".
The 21-year-old midfielder also talked about being compared to his cousin Cong Phuong. Quoc Cuong believes this is a positive motivation: It is the pride of the individual and family.
Mr. Phuong always encourages me, pointing out the shortcomings for me to improve. Wearing the U22 Vietnam jersey to participate in the SEA Games is a great honor for me.
Regarding the Indonesian coach's statement about the risk of U22 Vietnam and U22 Malaysia "joining hands" to eliminate Indonesia, Quoc Cuong affirmed that the whole team only aimed for one goal: "I watched the match where U22 Indonesia lost to U22 Philippines. For me personally and the whole team, the match against U22 Malaysia has no concept of a draw. We aim to win.
Talking about the decisive factor that helped U22 Vietnam play well, he said: "First of all, it is attitude and determination. If the attitude is not good, it will be difficult to compete. The whole team has been very united in the past few days, that is the most important thing".
This player with a long-range shot ability also shared about his strengths: "If I had the chance, I would have wanted to try my hand. Scoring with a long-range shot or any combination is scoring for the team.
Assessing the difficulties in participating in the 33rd SEA Games, Quoc Cuong said that all are challenges to overcome: That is just an external factor. The more difficult it is, the more valuable it is. We thank the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand for also supporting the team a lot.
U22 Vietnam will meet U22 Malaysia on December 11. A victory will help coach Kim Sang-sik and his team have a wide open door to the semi-finals and keep the top spot in Group B.
