Student football talents debut

Host ready to welcome Cambodian representative

At 4:00 p.m., the opening match between the host team Ton Duc Thang University and Life University (Cambodia) took place in Group A. For the first time "bringing the bell to strike in a foreign land", the Life University team expressed their special impression with the thoughtful and warm welcome of the organizing committee. Coach Kong Vechaka said that the team's goal is to conquer each opponent to aim for the prestigious championship trophy of the 2025 International Youth Championship - THACO Cup.

The home team Ton Duc Thang University (right) is ready for the opening match against Life University of Cambodia.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Having trained properly with the motivation of being promoted to play for Life Sihanoukville in the Cambodian Premier League, the players of the Life University team somewhat demonstrated their abilities in yesterday's training session to prepare for the opening match. The coaching staff of the Life University team said that they had somewhat grasped the strength of the home team when reviewing the matches in the final round of the TNSV VN - THACO Cup 2025. "This is a quality team, and has the advantage of playing at home with the support of fans. It will be a big challenge, but we came here to conquer. The Life University players all want to show their full potential. The weather in Ho Chi Minh City is quite similar to Cambodia, so we do not encounter many obstacles. Playing the opening match is not easy, but we are ready for this honor," said coach Kong Vechaka.

Meanwhile, the Ton Duc Thang University team has started preparing for the 2025 International Youth Football Tournament - THACO Cup right after stopping at the quarter-finals of the Vietnam Youth Football Tournament. Having been used to the pressure of playing in the opening match, coach Nguyen Dinh Long encouraged his students to turn the pressure into motivation and have the highest determination to achieve good results. "Coming from a school with the leading student football movement in Cambodia, in my opinion, the Life University team is a quality team. However, our team has gained a lot of experience after the Vietnam Youth Football Tournament finals, trying to make a more impressive comeback," coach Nguyen Dinh Long shared.

In the final round of the TNSV VN - THACO cup 2025, the Ton Duc Thang University team played better and better, especially in the quarterfinals, they played "transformed", causing many difficulties for the Da Nang University of Physical Education and Sports team and only stopped after the penalty shootout. If they maintain good form, striker Phan Hoai Nam and his teammates promise to achieve the goal of scoring points against the Life University team.

The battle between representatives of Malaysia and Singapore

At 6pm, the first match of Group B between the Malaysian University team and the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) team will take place. These are two strong teams, and are in the same group with another tough opponent, the reigning champion of the TNSV VN - THACO Cup 2025, Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism, so they will compete for a ticket to the semi-finals. It will be difficult for both the Malaysian and Singaporean teams when the tournament takes place during the fasting month of Ramadan. However, in the training session before the tournament, the players of both teams still showed that they were very well prepared.

The Nanyang Technological University team is currently the champion of the Singapore University Games and the Singapore Polytechnic Games, which took place from January to March. The reward for the whole team is a ticket to Ho Chi Minh City to participate in the 2025 International TNSV Tournament - THACO Cup. Coach Saswadimata Bin Dasuki said that the Nanyang Technological University players will play their best for the country and will prove their ability in the opening match against the Malaysian University team. With 2 weeks of preparation for the tournament and a quality squad selected from several universities in Malaysia, Coach Mohd Yazli Yahya expects his students to make a difference. The Malaysian University team's goal is to show their best in the opening match.