Playing against Indonesia in the semi-finals, the coach of U.19 Vietnam made a surprising announcement: 'I will keep quiet in the cabin'

Head coach of the Vietnam U.19 women's team, Mr. Okiyama Masahiko, shared his thoughts before the match against Indonesia in the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.19 Women's Championship.

At 6:30 p.m. on June 16 at Thong Nhat Stadium, the U.19 Vietnam women's team will face the U.19 Indonesia women's team in the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.19 Women's Championship. Coach Okiyama Masahiko and his team are very close to the final match. If they overcome Indonesia, the U.19 Vietnam women's team will have their fourth consecutive appearance in the regional tournament.

Coach of Vietnam U.19 women's team highly appreciates opponent

Before the semi-final match, coach Okiyama Masahiko shared: "Our opponent in the semi-final match is Indonesia, who has many tall players, good runners and a clear playing style. We need to analyze, in order to carefully prepare plans for this match."

The Japanese captain then half-joked, half-seriously: "Both teams' coaches are Japanese and understand each other's language. So when the match takes place, I will be careful and keep quiet in the technical cabin."

Coach Okiyama Masahiko (right) and colleague Akira Higashiyama

PHOTO: DINH VIEN

According to coach Masahiko, he, his coaching staff and players have completed the set goals after 3 matches in the group stage. However, the Japanese coach believes that the U.19 Vietnam women's team still needs to improve to be better. "After 3 matches in the group stage, we scored 16 goals and did not concede any. However, although the players created many scoring opportunities, they did not make the most of them. I am still trying to improve the players' finishing skills," the head coach of the U.19 Vietnam women's team emphasized.

Coach Masahiko once again affirmed that the goal of the U.19 Vietnam women's team has not changed, which is to reach the final and be crowned champion at home: "We have enough capacity to win the championship. But for now, we will focus on the semi-finals. The match with Indonesia is very important, and we will try our best."

The Vietnam U.19 women's team passed the group stage with the top spot, scoring 16 goals and not conceding any.

PHOTO: KHA HOA

Commenting on the host Vietnam, the head coach of the U.19 Indonesian women's team - Akira Higashiyama confidently said: "Vietnam's women's football is among the strongest in the continent. However, we will play our best. We are ready for the confrontation with Vietnam in the semi-finals."

"The Indonesian women's team has quality players. They have shown significant progress through each match. In the semi-final, we will play on Thong Nhat Stadium with good grass and will try to win," added coach Akira Higashiyama.

In the remaining semi-final, the Thai U.19 women's team will face Myanmar, also at Thong Nhat Stadium, at 3:00 p.m. on June 16.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dau-indonesia-o-ban-ket-hlv-u19-viet-nam-tuyen-bo-bat-ngo-toi-se-giu-im-lang-trong-cabin-185250615122459276.htm