This decision means that the most popular player in Vietnamese football today, Nguyen Xuan Son, will not be able to attend SEA Games 33. As a result, this naturalized star will also find it difficult to compete for the title of Vietnam Golden Ball. 1 year later. However, it’s difficult for everyone, the U.22 Vietnam team is not supplemented with the brightest stars, so are Thailand and Indonesia.
Young players will have a truly big “stage” for themselves at the SEA Games
Indonesia’s naturalized players playing in Europe will not be able to attend the SEA Games because they are too old, as will the most prominent talents of Thai football such as Chanathip Songkrasin or Theerathon Bunmathan. There will be no way the players just mentioned will try to salvage the title at the end of their career with a gold medal at SEA Games 33 in 2025, at home in Thailand.
Proposal for U.22 age to participate in SEA Games football content, instead of U.23 like previous congresses, plus not allowing teams to add players over the age specified by the Football Federation Thai Football Association (FAT) and the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), quickly gained support from the Southeast Asian football world.
The U.22 age group participating in the SEA Games is in line with the roadmap to participate in the 2026 U.23 Asian Championship of teams in the region. At the same time, with this young age, Southeast Asian football talents have many opportunities to develop. The SEA Games 33 men’s soccer content, therefore, is returned to the true value of the conference, which is to create a playground for young talents to “spread their wings” and reach larger, high-class stages. more after SEA Games.
Vietnamese youth football has a chance to win SEA Games gold medal
In recent years, the schedule of top football matches in Southeast Asia has become increasingly dense. In addition to the Southeast Asian football championship for national teams (AFF Cup), football in the region also has a club championship (Southeast Asian C1 Cup, this season called Shopee Cup). Interspersed with the above tournaments, Southeast Asian players also have to compete in World Cup qualifiers, Asian Cup qualifiers, Asian Cup finals at the national team level, and Asian Cups (AFC). Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League 2) for clubs.
The performance requirements in the above playgrounds force some teams to use suitable players and use many star players. Particularly for clubs competing in the Southeast Asian Champions League and Asian Cups, they must use many foreign soldiers to increase their club’s competitiveness and achievements. Therefore, playgrounds specifically for young players are becoming more and more important to the football scene in the region.
SEA Games is one such playground, specifically for young players in men’s soccer. The fact that the Organizing Committee of the 33rd SEA Games in 2025, limits the age of the U.22 group, creating maximum conditions for young players to perform, in the long run, is beneficial for the development of Southeast football. Ah!
What does coach Kim Sang-sik do to build the U.22 team?
Coach Kim Sang-sik will closely monitor domestic tournaments, find young players, build strength for the U.22 Vietnam team, and look forward to international missions in 2025. When the 2024- 2025 ends in May this year, the basic framework of U.22 Vietnam will basically be formed, ready to participate in the 2026 Asian U.23 qualifiers. After the Asian qualifiers, the team will SEA Games participation will almost be drafted. Next is the training phase to prepare for the SEA Games, which will likely take place in November.
