Indonesia, 22 July, 2025 – The group stage of the 2025 ASEAN U23 Championship concluded on the evening of July 22 with no surprises, as the four strongest teams—U23 Vietnam, U23 Thailand, U23 Indonesia, and U23 Philippines—secured their places in the semifinals. However, defending champions U23 Vietnam still left fans with lingering concerns after a narrow and hard-fought 2-1 victory over U23 Cambodia.
Coach Kim Sang Sik made a notable change to the starting lineup, benching striker Nguyen Dinh Bac due to a muscle strain sustained in the previous match against U23 Laos. Although Dinh Bac had recovered by July 21, the coaching staff opted not to take risks. Despite the change, U23 Vietnam quickly dominated the midfield and outperformed Cambodia in key metrics such as possession, shots, and set pieces. Still, their attackers struggled to break through Cambodia’s organized defense.
In the 34th minute, Vietnam came close to scoring when Quoc Viet’s header struck the post. Just one minute later, the deadlock was finally broken when Ly Duc headed in from close range, giving U23 Vietnam a 1-0 lead. Remarkably, this marked Vietnam’s fourth goal of the tournament—all scored by non-strikers.
The goal brought new energy to the match, and with nothing to lose, U23 Cambodia pushed forward in search of an equalizer. They nearly found it just two minutes into the second half, as Vit Van’s header beat goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien but was heroically cleared off the line by Anh Quan.
While U23 Vietnam continued to control possession, Cambodia’s quick central attacks carried real danger. In the 62nd minute, Cambodia equalized through a powerful header from Rado Mon, stunning the Vietnamese defense.
With a potential group-stage exit looming, Coach Kim Sang Sik made aggressive substitutions, bringing on Dinh Bac and Cong Phuong to strengthen the attack. His decisions paid off in the 82nd minute, when Dinh Bac headed in the decisive goal, restoring the lead at 2-1—a scoreline that held until the final whistle.
Despite the win, the fact that none of the team’s forwards have scored thus far remains a concern for Vietnam’s coaching staff heading into the knockout stage.
With the group stage concluded, the semifinal matchups set for July 25 are as follows: U23 Vietnam vs. U23 Philippines and U23 Thailand vs. U23 Indonesia. The third-place match and final will be played on July 28 and 29, respectively.
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