Vietnam U23s are scheduled to face their archrivals Thailand U23s in the final of men’s football at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Hanoi on Sunday evening.

The highly-anticipated match will begin at 7:00 pm on Sunday at My Dinh National Stadium in the capital city and will be aired on VTV6 Channel, FPT Play, and ONFootball.

Experts considered that Vietnam U23s and their Thai peers as neck and neck, and that any team can win if making good use of their opportunities.

Some believed that the Golden Stars, who are defending their SEA Games gold medal, will triumph and seize the gold medal thanks to their home field advantage.

Vietnam lost to Thailand in men’s football finals five times at the previous SEA Games in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2009.

Despite the home field advantage, the Vietnamese players lost the gold medal to their archrivals in 2003, when Vietnam hosted the Games for the first time.

Under the guidance of coach Park Hang Seo, the Golden Stars won the first-ever gold medal in men’s football at the 30th SEA Games in 2019, after defeating Indonesia 3-0 in Manila, the Philippines.

Park has claimed three wins, four draws, and one loss against Thailand at both junior and senior levels since 2017.

Prior to the final match on Sunday evening, Indonesia and Malaysia will battle out for the bronze medal at 4:00 pm the same day.

The third place play-off will be broadcast live on VTV6 Channel, FPT Play, and ONFootball.

The 31st SEA Games, which boast 526 categories in 40 sports, are taking place in Hanoi and 11 neighboring provinces and cities from May 12 until May 23.

The biennial event was originally scheduled from November 21 to December 2, 2021 but was postponed after Vietnam saw a flare-up of COVID-19 cases in late April the same year.

Over 7,878 athletes, coaches, and members of 11 sports delegations in Southeast Asia have registered for the event.

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