ESPN: Southeast Asia U23 Final Shapes Regional and Continental Football Map

VHO - Before the final match of the 2025 U23 Southeast Asia, ESPN writer Gabriel Tan wrote an article commenting on U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia, praising "Vietnam as a model for youth football development over the past 8 years" and "emphasizing that this match "is the next step in the journey to shape the future position of the two football backgrounds".

On the evening of July 29, the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will determine the new champion of the region. Host Indonesia is eager to assert its rising position, while U23 Vietnam has the opportunity to set a record of winning the championship three times in a row.

For Indonesia, victory is not simply a result on the field but also a testament to the promise and expectations they carry, not only as hosts but also as representatives of a new generation that is growing strongly, firmly and no longer slow on the journey to assert its position in Asian football.

Not to mention, Indonesia has long been known as the “king of runners-up” in Southeast Asia. Despite being one of the traditional football powers in the region, they have never won the AFF Cup and currently hold a sad record of six runners-up finishes.

However, they can boast that they are the only Southeast Asian team to have made it to the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup – making them one of the continent’s 18 strongest teams. From there, they will continue to aim for the fourth round of qualifying in October. The World Cup dream – which has not been realised since their only appearance in 1938 as the Dutch East Indies – is becoming increasingly possible, although the challenge in Group B with Saudi Arabia and Iraq is not small.

Indonesia’s rise is partly due to the influx of naturalized players. While most of these players have Indonesian parents or grandparents, there is no denying that they have grown up in strong European footballing nations – a factor that has significantly improved the quality of Indonesia’s squad.

U23 Indonesia won a thrilling penalty shootout against Thailand in the semi-finals.

However, at this year’s U23 tournament, except for striker Jens Raven – a 19-year-old striker who has scored 7 goals in just 3 matches – the majority of the Indonesian squad are made up of domestic players. Even mixed-race players like Brandon Scheunemann and Victor Dethan have gained experience from the Liga 1 national championship.

If they win, it will be clear evidence that: although continuing to exploit the potential of Indonesian players abroad, Indonesia still possesses a rich enough domestic foundation to produce the next generation such as Marselino Ferdinan, Pratama Arhan or Rizky Ridho - faces that have contributed to the revival of football in this country in recent years.

Something that is especially important for a team aiming not just for the next World Cup, but for many more to come.

On the other hand, Vietnam has the opportunity to assert its dominance in the region with the goal of winning the U23 Southeast Asian Championship for the third consecutive time – a proud record, extending the impressive streak of achievements that the national team achieved at the AFF Cup earlier this year.

Young Vietnamese players practice enthusiastically.

In terms of youth football development, Vietnam can be seen as a model for the region over the past eight years.

It all started with a miraculous runner-up finish at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship (now the AFC U-23 Championship), followed by a fourth-place finish at the ASIAD that same year – where they only reached the semi-finals against a South Korean team featuring stars like Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan and Son Heung-min – three players who were allowed to play overage.

This group of players later formed the core of the national team that won the 2018 AFF Cup, won the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games gold medals, and reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup - a milestone marking the remarkable growth of Vietnamese football.

Vietnam is also the only representative of Southeast Asia to have participated in the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, where only the 12 strongest teams in Asia participated.

Of course, Indonesia will look to their World Cup qualifying journey to claim that they are the strongest team in the region at the moment. Their group stage exit at the most recent AFF Cup was explained by the fact that they brought an inexperienced squad.

Vietnam does not care.

For Vietnam, every regional tournament – where familiar opponents face off directly – has its own meaning, a place to affirm strength through real ability and competitive spirit.

Last January, the national team defeated Indonesia in the semi-finals and then won the AFF Cup.

Six months later, they expect the U23 team to do the same.

Whatever the outcome of the final, this will certainly be the next step in the journey to shape the future position of the two footballing nations – not only in the region, but also in the wider continent.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/espn-chung-ket-u23-dong-nam-a-dinh-hinh-ban-do-bong-da-khu-vuc-va-chau-luc-157184.html