Fierce race for the big playground

Q DETERMINED TO KEEP THE CUP AT HOME

The Ton Duc Thang University team did not compete successfully at the 3rd TNSV VN Finals - 2025 THACO Cup, when they stopped in the quarterfinals against the Da Nang University of Physical Education and Sports team on penalties. However, with a young and fresh squad, it is understandable that coach Nguyen Dinh Long and his team had difficulty in building a cohesive playing style.

- Ảnh 1. — Nanyang Technological University actively trains troops

Leaving behind the sadness, the host team of the 2025 International TNSV - THACO Cup has returned to training this week at Ton Duc Thang University with ball sense and tactics training, analyzing the shortcomings in the domestic tournament to present the international playground with a new, more worth-watching look.

After winning the Vietnamese TNSV championship, the Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism team was "rewarded" by coach Nguyen Cong Thanh with a day off, then immediately returned to practice yesterday afternoon, March 18. Ngan Nhu Dung and her teammates soon returned to the field to catch up with the competition, as well as maintain a good physical foundation for the long-term battle at the 2025 International TNSV.

"The players have returned to the training ground. We spent a full day resting and celebrating the championship trophy, but also quickly got back into the training rhythm because we understand that there are still many challenges ahead," Coach Cong Thanh affirmed and said: "The Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism team will seriously review what we have done and what we have not done in the last tournament. With foreign opponents at the 2025 International Youth Championship, we have not yet grasped the playing style, but the whole team will do our best in preparation, with the spirit of playing as hard as we can."

In TNSV VN, Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism almost only fights with one team. To strengthen the force and have more options for difficult matches in international tournaments, the representative of Thanh decided to add 2 new players who had trained with the U.19 Thanh Hoa team. With the return of central defender Nguyen Doan Thien Dung after suspension, Coach Cong Thanh has a strong team in hand.

FOREIGN TEAMS ARE READY

Among the teams participating in the 2025 International Youth Football Tournament - THACO Cup, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) is the earliest team to gather. The team from the Lion Island has been practicing since the beginning of the month under the direction of Coach Saswadimata Bin Dasuki to maintain their physical condition. The student players maintain a regular and scientific frequency of studying and competing. The team's training program focuses on training tactics and tactics.

"We play friendly matches with local teams to strengthen our playing style and help the players understand each other better. As soon as we accepted the invitation to participate in the 2025 International Youth Championship, Nanyang Technological University prepared very seriously. The tournament will be very harsh and unpredictable, but the whole team is ready," said team leader Muhammad Syafiq Bin Juffri.

The Singapore team wants to take advantage of their solidarity, in addition to their good form as the team has just finished their journey in the Singapore University Championship with the championship, so they are already in high spirits and in good physical condition.

The Malaysian University Team gathered on March 10. With the participants being students from semi-professional teams, the Malaysian University team has plenty of talent, but needs time to assemble the team so that the personnel understand each other. Coach Mohd Yazli Yahya and his team practiced systematically, with the same curriculum as professional teams, from practicing without the ball, endurance, stretching, to dividing the team into opposing teams to practice attacking and defending. A training session for the Malaysian representative is not long, but the exercises change continuously and the intensity of movement is extremely high. "We are practicing seriously. The whole team is trying to contribute to the country," Coach Yahya shared.

Other strong candidates such as Life University (Cambodia) and Lao University are also in the final stages of training. Although they gathered quite late because the players come from 4 universities, the representative from Laos has been busy assembling the team, training their physical strength and playing style. As for the Life University team, practicing tactics is the top priority.