Expert Phan Anh Tu: Vietnam leads Southeast Asian youth football

The 1-0 victory of U23 Vietnam over U23 Indonesia in the U23 Southeast Asian tournament further affirmed that Vietnam's youth football development strategy is on the right track and leading the region.

U23 Vietnam records another victory in Southeast Asia - Photo: ANH KHOA

The only goal of the final match of the U23 Southeast Asia 2025 was scored by striker Nguyen Cong Phuong. U23 Vietnam won the U23 Southeast Asia Championship for the third consecutive time after 5 times held in 2022, 2023 and 2025.

Football expert Phan Anh Tu highly appreciates the youth training work of Vietnamese football over the past time, to create many quality players for the U-teams of the Vietnam Football Federation.

"The more U23 Vietnam plays, the more mature they become, after four matches at the U23 Southeast Asia 2025. Playing to the final, coach Kim Sang Sik showed that the players are mature, have a clear understanding of the plan and are proactive in tactics.

Our opponent is U23 Indonesia, the home team with a lot of pressure from the audience. Especially when they could not get over their nerves after winning U23 Thailand in the penalty shootout and two extra periods.

Indonesian players did not show any danger when Raven only had one chance. In general, the damage when attacking was no longer there, lacked a good striker, and could not create pressure.

Therefore, when well prepared, Vietnamese players can easily promote their strengths in coordination, rhythm in playing, and balance between attack and defense. Many players are confident and control the ball.

Vietnamese youth football leads the region - Photo: ANH KHOA

Vo Anh Quan, Nguyen Dinh Bac and Nguyen Cong Phuong all showed their roles and value when given the opportunity. They kept the ball and created a seamless block with satellites like Phi Hoang.

Winning 1-0 but U23 Vietnam convincingly won the Southeast Asian championship. We have better quality players, reasonable tactics from the group stage to the final and many factors to optimize the squad.

The consecutive championship achievements of U23 Vietnam show that Vietnamese football has played a leading role in the region in recent years. That is the reason why the Vietnamese national team has achieved many successes.

Other countries like Malaysia or Indonesia that pursue naturalization or foreign policies need to review the effectiveness. If young domestic players do not have the opportunity to play, it is also alarming.

Vietnamese football needs to balance resources, young players are given favorable conditions, overseas Vietnamese players are supported in competition, to avoid falling into a situation of lacking domestic resources when necessary."

Back to topic

QUANG THINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-gia-phan-anh-tu-viet-nam-dan-dau-bong-da-tre-dong-nam-a-20250729235206057.htm