Today U.23 Laos and Cambodia face off: Coach Kim has 4 days to carefully study the opponent

The 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will continue today (July 16). U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia will open Group B at 5 p.m. Coach Kim Sang-sik of U23 Vietnam has 4 days to study his opponents.

U.23 Laos and U.23 Cambodia start

Today (July 16), U.23 Laos will face U.23 Cambodia in the first match of Group B at the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship. The match will take place at 5:00 p.m., while at 8:00 p.m., U.23 Myanmar will meet U.23 Timor Leste.

Since Groups B and C only have 3 teams each, there are 2 teams that will not play in the first round: U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Thailand. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will play the opening match on July 19 at 5:00 p.m. against U.23 Cambodia, while U.23 Thailand will face U.23 Timor Leste 3 hours later.

U.23 Southeast Asia 2025 group stage schedule

With 4 days to study the opponents, coach Kim Sang-sik will simultaneously monitor the teams directly facing each other in Group B, Cambodia and Laos, as well as potential opponents that may meet in the semi-finals or further into the final, such as U.23 Thailand and U.23 Indonesia.

Although U.23 Vietnam is rated much higher than U.23 Cambodia and U.23 Laos, Coach Kim cannot be complacent because there was a big shock in the opening match of the tournament. U.23 Philippines created a big surprise when defeating U.23 Malaysia with a score of 2-0. Contrary to predictions, the team from Southeast Asia showed a sharp and effective defensive counter-attacking style.

Highlight U.23 Malaysia 0-2 U.23 Philippines: Shock on opening day

Meanwhile, in the match that took place 3 hours later, the host U.23 Indonesia made a strong impression with a devastating 8-0 victory over U.23 Brunei. In particular, the naturalized striker Jens Raven, born in 2005 and of Dutch origin, had an impressive debut when he scored 6 goals, including one from the penalty spot. His goals were scored in the 2nd, 8th, 31st, 33rd, 41st and 90+1st minutes, helping the home team lead 7-0 after the first half and end the match with a score of 8-0.

U.23 Laos hopes to create a surprise

On the afternoon of July 15, the Organizing Committee of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship held a press conference for the teams in Group B.

Coach Ha Hyeok-jun of Laos U23 admitted that his team was rated lower than U23 Vietnam and U23 Cambodia in all aspects. However, his team still participated in the tournament with a clear goal of learning, improving and creating surprises.

Coach Ha Hyeok-jun shared: “We have players who have played for both the national team and the U23 team. The goal is to improve their individual abilities and prepare for the future. Hopefully, this tournament will be a good foundation for Laos to develop and prepare for important upcoming tournaments such as the U23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games.”

Head coaches of the U.23 Cambodia, U.23 Laos, U.23 Vietnam teams (from left to right) - PHOTO: VFF

For his part, coach Kim Sang-sik of U.23 Vietnam shared: "First of all, I am very happy to accompany the players in this tournament. U.23 Vietnam has won two championships, so we also have certain pressure. My students and I will try our best to practice to achieve the best results."

Regarding the competitors, Coach Kim Sang Sik did not hesitate to evaluate U.23 Thailand and U.23 Indonesia: "U.23 Thailand is a strong team, the players have good individual skills. U.23 Indonesia has impressive speed and physical strength. These are two formidable teams and have the ability to compete for the championship."

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

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hom-nay-u23-lao-va-campuchia-cham-tran-thay-kim-co-4-ngay-nghien-cuu-ky-doi-thu-18525071522223882.htm