In the semi-finals, U22 Vietnam beat U22 Philippines 2-0 with two goals in the final minutes of the match. Meanwhile, U22 Thailand beat U22 Malaysia 1-0, despite playing with an extra man very early
Thairath's football expert watched both semi-final matches and admitted that U22 Vietnam played more impressively than U22 Thailand. In the pre-final analysis, this person shared: U22 Vietnam clearly showed their superior playing style compared to U22 Thailand.
Despite scoring two goals to win against a strong Philippines team in a tough match in the final minutes, the quality of their attacking play has improved significantly compared to the two matches in the group stage.
Meanwhile, U22 Thailand played cautiously against U22 Malaysia. After Yosakorn Burapha's early lead, the Thai players did not have any really impressive performances.
Many players were slow and did not perform well, leading to a match lacking the smoothness and appeal that should have been. U22 Thailand should have controlled the match more effectively when playing with an extra player. However, they caused difficulties for U22 Malaysia many times, luckily goalkeeper Sarawat Phosaman played calmly.
The performance of the Thai football team was not very impressive and did not meet the expectations of fans, but in the end they still made it to the gold medal match".
According to the analysis of Thai media, the home team was not really impressed at the SEA Games because the tournament was not included in the FIFA Days schedule. Therefore, Thai League clubs do not release players. Some players of the U22 Thailand team had to constantly move to compete for clubs at the SEA Games, leading to exhaustion.
On the contrary, Vietnam has completely stopped V.League to focus on the SEA Games. Therefore, coach Kim Sang-sik has the best force. Therefore, it is not surprising that the U22 Vietnam players are full of energy and physical strength.
Thai media also affirmed that coach Kim Sang-sik wants to make history with U22 Vietnam, by winning the SEA Games gold medal right in Thailand.
Earlier this year, Mr. Kim Sang-sik and the Vietnamese team won the ASEAN Cup right in Thailand, after defeating the host team.
Although the home team did not play impressively, the Thai media still believed that U22 Thailand could still defeat U22 Vietnam.
U22 Thailand did not play well, and our performance was not impressive, that is the truth. But that does not mean we have to lose to U22 Vietnam at home. The SEA Games football final will be a one-match only knockout round, anything can happen.
Don't forget that the level of U22 and U23 football in the ASEAN region is quite similar among countries. It all depends on the strategic plan, tactics and the coach's player selection. Hopefully everything will go in a beneficial direction for the Thai U22 coach, Thairath commented.
The final match between U22 Thailand and U22 Vietnam will take place at 7:30 p.m. on December 18.
