U23 Vietnam is superior in head-to-head compared to U23 Philippines, but…

Coach Kim Sang-sik's students missed many opportunities against weak opponents like U23 Cambodia.

The match will take place at 4pm tomorrow, July 25 in Jakarta (Indonesia). Compared to their opponents, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are rated higher in many aspects.

According to statistics in the past 14 years, U23 Vietnam has a superior record in head-to-head matches against U23 Philippines. Specifically, U23 Vietnam has never lost on any front. Most recently at the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 tournament, U23 Vietnam beat U23 Philippines 1-0.

Previously at the 2021 SEA Games, U23 Vietnam under the leadership of coach Park Hang-seo drew 0-0 with U23 Philippines. At the 2011 SEA Games 14 years ago, U23 Vietnam defeated their opponent 3-1.

In terms of force, U23 Vietnam currently still has basically all the best faces. The only case whose opportunity to play is unclear is Ly Duc, due to an ankle injury. The U23 Vietnam midfield includes many players who have been "tested" in V-League such as Khuat Van Khang (The Cong Viettel ), Thai Son (Thanh Hoa) or Dinh Bac, Nguyen Quoc Viet, all of whom are experienced.

U23 Philippines caused a big surprise with stable performance in the group stage

But do not be subjective.

The problem with U23 Vietnam is that the strikers are not really good at seizing opportunities, if not missing too many opportunities. In the match against U23 Cambodia in the group stage, U23 Vietnam almost paid the price when the opponent equalized, while the strikers continuously shot wide.

This is quite a difficult problem for coach Kim Sang-sik when facing U23 Philippines, because the opponent plays defensive-counterattacking, which is potentially very dangerous.

The U23 Philippines squad has many “hybrid” players, such as goalkeeper Guimaraes (Japan), striker Banatao (USA), midfielder Jax Pena, Gavin Muens (USA)… The U23 Philippines’ wing has elements of speed and the ability to create breakthroughs. If they are not careful, U23 Vietnam can completely “get hit” by lightning counterattacks from the opponent.

In the group stage, U23 Philippines also caused a big surprise when they defeated U23 Malaysia in the opening match, only lost 0-1 to host U23 Indonesia due to an own goal and beat Brunei 2-0 in the final match to win first place in Group A.

Coach Garrath McPherson clearly has reason to be confident about his chances of creating a surprise against U23 Vietnam. This requires coach Kim Sang-sik to have a thorough plan for tomorrow's semi-final confrontation.