The group stage of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship has concluded, determining the four teams that have made it to the semi-finals, including U23 Indonesia, U23 Thailand, U23 Vietnam and U23 Philippines. Of these, the Philippines is the team that surprised everyone by advancing as the second-placed team with the best record.
U23 Indonesia, U23 Thailand and U23 Vietnam have qualified for the semi-finals as group winners. In the semi-finals, U23 Indonesia will face U23 Thailand, while U23 Vietnam will face U23 Philippines. The semi-finals are scheduled to take place on July 25 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta.
Before the semi-finals, U23 Thailand was assessed by Indonesian media as not having good performance. Because in the group stage, this team won 4-0 against U23 Timor Leste in the opening match of Group C, but was held to a 0-0 draw by U23 Myanmar in the final match, and only won a total of 4 points.
Bola newspaper commented: "Thailand's poor performance before the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship is a great opportunity for the Indonesian U23 team!"
U23 Thailand (blue) faces host Indonesia in the semi-finals
Notably, the draw against Myanmar on the evening of July 22 at Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium (Bekasi) did not really satisfy Thai fans, especially when the team was led by captain Seksan Ratree - currently playing in the Thai League, with a force considered the strongest in the group. Closing the group stage, the "war elephants" only scored 4 goals despite only meeting Timor Leste and Myanmar.
After the match, coach Thawatchai Damrongongtrakul said: "The semi-final match with Indonesia is a great thing. I also told the players that we want to meet Indonesia because there will be a lot of fans coming to watch. The more we meet the home team, the more we evaluate the team's potential. If we want to win the championship, we have to overcome this stage."
The semi-final match with U23 Indonesia is therefore considered a big challenge for U23 Thailand and its players, while also opening up a great opportunity for U23 Indonesia to win a ticket to the final.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/thai-lan-phong-do-kem-vao-ban-ket-chu-nha-u23-dong-nam-a-mung-ro-196250723114535834.htm
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