U22 Vietnam and the difficult group at SEA Games 33

The U22 Vietnam team has determined its opponents at the 33rd SEA Games to be U22 Malaysia and U22 Laos. This is a group that is not considered easy for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team.

SEA Games 33 men's football, the tournament applies the U22 squad rule (players born from January 1, 2003 onwards), there is no place for overage players. The top three teams and the second-placed team with the best record will advance to the semi-finals.

According to the draw results, U22 Vietnam is in the same group with U22 Malaysia and U22 Laos. Although U22 Vietnam is rated the highest, this is still not an easy group for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team. We must identify U22 Malaysia as the competitor for the ticket to the next round as the group leader.

The goal of men's football is to win the 33rd SEA Games. Photo: VFF

The core of U22 Vietnam will be the players in the U23 Vietnam team that won the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. This tournament is considered to be a preparation for the 33rd SEA Games when also applying the 3-group format.

U23 Vietnam is in a light group when facing U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia. Experts once said that U23 Vietnam will not face many difficulties when both opponents are considered weaker. But in reality, U23 Vietnam had to work very hard to get through the group stage with the top spot. And U23 Vietnam's journey to the championship of that tournament was also full of challenges.

Mentioning that tournament shows that U22 Vietnam will have to face a difficult challenge. Not to mention U23 Malaysia will not be an easy opponent and is also competing for a ticket to continue. In the process of heading to SEA Games 33, the U22 Vietnam team has been carefully prepared. VFF coordinated with the Qatar Football Federation to organize two friendly matches with U23 Qatar - during the training trip in the UAE in October 2025. At the same time, up to 7 young players were given the opportunity by Mr. Kim Sang-sik in the Vietnam team to participate in two matches against Nepal at the 2027 Asian Cup.

In November 2025, U23 Vietnam will participate in an international tournament in China - a tournament that brings together the top U23 teams in Asia. This is an opportunity for the team to continue perfecting their tactics, improving their skills and accumulating experience before the big goals ahead.

After the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, coach Kim Sang-sik said: “The recent Southeast Asian U23 Championship was the result of the players’ hard work and sweat. Along with that, the coaching staff analyzed the tactics of the players and opponents to create that success. I also hope that when I touch something, it will turn into gold.

For me, the SEA Games goal is definitely the championship. We try to regain our confidence in competition to achieve our set goal."

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan also shared that the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship is the first achievement of the year, and at the same time, it is a testament to the right direction in developing youth football. He affirmed that VFF has been preparing a comprehensive plan for the U23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games, with the goal of passing the qualifiers and competing for medals in the regional arena - first of all, participating in the SEA Games finals.

For coach Kim Sang-sik and his team, no match is easy. We did not achieve success in the last SEA Games. Therefore, the next goal is to win a gold medal.

Results of the draw for men's and women's football and men's and women's futsal at the 33rd SEA Games

In men's football, Vietnam is in Group B with Malaysia and Laos. The tournament has a total of 10 participating teams, divided into 3 groups, of which Group A and B each have 3 teams, Group C has 4 teams. The teams are seeded based on their performance and hosting rights, including Thailand (host team, code A1), Indonesia, Vietnam (Group 1); Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia (Group 2); Timor Leste, Philippines, Laos (Group 3) and Singapore (Group 4).

According to the plan, the group stage will take place from December 3 to 12, the semi-finals on December 15 and the bronze medal match and final on December 18. Three stadiums have been chosen to host the tournament, including Rajamangala (Bangkok), Tinsulanonda (Songkhla) and 700th Anniversary of Chiangmai (Chiangmai), of which Rajamangala will be the venue for the semi-finals and final.

In women's football, Vietnam is in Group B with Myanmar, Malaysia and the Philippines. The tournament has 8 teams divided into 2 groups of 4 teams each. The draw results determined that Group A includes Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Cambodia.

The teams will compete in a round robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The group stage will take place from December 4 to 13, with the semi-finals on December 14 and the bronze medal match and final on December 17.

In the futsal event, the Vietnamese women's futsal team is in Group B with Myanmar and Indonesia, while Group A includes Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. This is considered a balanced group, as Myanmar (ranked 48th in the world ) and Indonesia (ranked 52nd in the world) are both rapidly improving opponents, having caused many difficulties for Vietnam in recent SEA Games.

In the men's futsal event, since there are only 5 participating teams including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, the Organizing Committee decided to play a round robin to determine the final ranking. The Vietnamese men's futsal team aims to make it to the final. ( HH )

Source: https://cand.com.vn/van-hoa/u22-viet-nam-va-bang-dau-khong-de-o-sea-games-33-i785257/