Coach Kim Sang-sik: 'The door is always open for U.23 players in the Vietnam national team'

What time will U.23 Vietnam return home?

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team maintained a stable performance, winning all matches from the two group stage matches against U.23 Laos and U.23 Cambodia to the semi-final match against U.23 Philippines and finally defeating the host team Indonesia 1-0 in the final to lift the championship trophy for the third time.

This is a very commendable achievement for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team, especially when playing under great pressure from tens of thousands of Indonesian spectators at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. The championship is extremely worthy of what U.23 Vietnam has shown.

Today, July 30, the U.23 Vietnam team will return home after an emotional journey at the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament. According to the schedule, the team will depart from Indonesia at 1:50 p.m. and is expected to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City at around 5 p.m. the same day. The team will continue their flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi , expected to land at Noi Bai airport at 10 p.m.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

After the tournament, the U.23 Vietnam players will return to their clubs to continue preparing for upcoming domestic tournaments, including the V-League and the first division. Some members of the U.23 Vietnam team are currently key personnel at domestic clubs. Many members of the team may reunite soon to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games held in Thailand later this year. This time, the men's football competition will be played at the U.22 age group and no overage players will be used.

Meanwhile, Coach Kim Sang-sik and his coaching staff will also have a lot of work to do from now until December. Mr. Kim and his assistants will monitor domestic tournaments to find suitable personnel for the upcoming journey to conquer the SEA Games gold medal.

The 33rd SEA Games will take place from December 9 to December 20, 2025 in Thailand. In the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, the regulation of using U.22 players in men's football has been applied. In the tournament 2 years ago, the U.22 Indonesia team won the gold medal after an impressive victory over U.22 Thailand. U.22 Vietnam won the bronze medal after a 3-1 victory over U.22 Myanmar in the third-place match.