Coach of U23 Philippines: "U23 Vietnam is much stronger than I imagined"

(Dan Tri) - Coach Garrath McPherson of U23 Philippines praised U23 Vietnam after the semi-final match between the two teams at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (Jakarta, Indonesia) this afternoon (July 25).

Excellent comeback to defeat Philippines, U23 Vietnam won the right to enter the final

The result of the first semi-final was that U23 Vietnam won U23 Philippines 2-1. After this match, coach Garrath McPherson of U23 Philippines said: "I was confident that we would win this semi-final. However, U23 Vietnam is too strong, they are stronger than what I imagined."

“The Vietnamese players deployed the ball well and attacked coherently. We tried to disrupt the play of U23 Vietnam, but were unsuccessful. Perhaps U23 Philippines needs to practice more to stop a strong opponent like U23 Vietnam.

Coach Garrath McPherson of U23 Philippines (Photo: PFF).

U23 Philippines learned a lot from you, U23 Vietnam deserves to be the defending champion. After the U23 Southeast Asian tournament, we will have more lessons to prepare for the U23 Asian qualifiers in 2026 and the 33rd SEA Games in 2025," Mr. Garrath McPherson added.

In the semi-final match that took place at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, U23 Vietnam missed many scoring opportunities. If coach Kim Sang Sik's players had taken advantage of the opportunities, the match score would not have stopped at 2-1.

U23 Philippines is the team that has faced both the top championship candidates, U23 Indonesia and U23 Vietnam, in this year's tournament. Coach Garrath McPherson therefore has an overview of these two teams.

Coach Garrath McPherson praised U23 Vietnam for controlling the ball well (Photo: VFF).

Mr. Garrath McPherson commented: “First, I affirm that the two teams U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia are both very strong. Each team has its own strengths.”

“U23 Indonesia is good at passing the ball behind the opponent’s defense. The young team from the archipelago also tries to control the ball, but U23 Indonesia does not do this as well as U23 Vietnam.

The U23 Vietnam players controlled the ball very well. Every time they had the ball in the opponent's half, the U23 Vietnam team was very dangerous. In addition, they also knew how to exploit set pieces. The U23 Vietnam team scored many goals from set pieces in this year's tournament," said coach Garrath McPherson.

The final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will take place on the evening of July 29, at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. U23 Vietnam is the first team to win a ticket to the final match.

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ live onFPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-u23-philippines-u23-viet-nam-qua-manh-so-voi-toi-hinh-dung-20250725194446351.htm