3 lessons learned from the 1-1 draw between U23 Vietnam and U20 Korea

Vietnam U23 entered the first friendly match with Korea U20 on the evening of April 19 at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho). The match took place at a slow pace and without many particularly dangerous situations, true to the nature of a friendly match.

Final result,U23 Vietnam1-1 draw with U20 Korea. There are 3 things to learn from this match.

The match ended 1-1 and both sides had reasons to be satisfied when leaving the field. Photo: Hai Hoang

1. Gameplay flaws

Coach Park Hang-seo decided to experiment with almost the entire squad (except goalkeeper Van Toan) although still using the familiar 3-4-3 formation. Vi Hao was positioned as the highest player, supported by Xuan Tu and Bao Toan. The midfield area consisted of the central midfielder duo Cong Den and Duc Viet, and the two wingers were Tuan Tai (left), Van Viet (right). The three central defenders included Tien Long (left), Van Toi (sweeper), and Anh Viet (right).

The operation of the U23 Vietnam team's playing style is commendable but also has many limitations. In terms of psychology, U23 Vietnam has performed very well and is not as worrying as previously predicted. U23 Vietnam also counterattacked at a fairly fast speed, for example, the situation leading to the equalizer 1-1 from the penalty spot by captain Van Toi.

The U23 Vietnam squad has many changes. Photo: VFF

However, the young players of U23 Vietnam have not created confidence in maintaining the team's distance. Many gaps between the midfield and defense lines are exposed. Although the coordination situations to develop the ball at speed, most of them are quite hasty (due to lack of experience) and are often interrupted due to poor passing.

The red team's ability to defend against high balls is also quite weak. Meanwhile, the defense system is still erratic, lacking alliance between positions, and poor cover. This is the reason for the loss of U23 Vietnam.

Another weakness in the playing style is the ability to coordinate short and small balls is not as good as desired. Even when switching to long balls, it is not very effective because the other team often predicts and cuts them off.

2. Difficult to find a backup person

Coach Pham Minh Duc commented: “Coach Park’s personnel experimentation in the first half may make him worried. Inexperience is the main reason for the lack of fluidity in U23 Vietnam’s playing style.

Our team did not control the ball well and did not organize the attack well because the midfield and the two wingers could not find a common voice. The two full-backs did not develop the ball and support the attack well."

Van Xuan is irreplaceable in U23 Vietnam. Photo: VFF

This comment by coach Pham Minh Duc made fans remember Van Hau. 3 years ago, Van Hau was one of the bright spots of U22+2 Vietnam at SEA Games 30. Thanks to Van Hau, the left wing of U22 Vietnam became very strong and did not give the opponent a chance to exploit.

At the moment, Van Xuan is the number 1 candidate to replace Van Hau. Against U20 Korea, Van Xuan entered the field in the second half and played extremely impressively. The problem for coach Park is to find a backup plan for Van Xuan, in case this player gets injured or cannot play for any other reason.

3. Personnel testing has not yielded results

Some of Coach Park’s personnel experiments have not yielded results. Duc Viet - the youngest player of U23 Vietnam in this training session - played with all his might but was not suited to the role assigned to him. This led to U23 Vietnam not being able to control the ball in midfield.

When returning to his strong position as attacking midfielder, Duc Viet played better.

Some players have not performed well. Photo: Hoang Hai

In the second half, Coach Park sent a series of key players onto the field with the aim of continuing to test the formation when asking U23 Vietnam to switch from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2. The change in state also helped U23 Vietnam play more clearly and with more intention, but some positions did not bring peace of mind.

The return match on April 22 at Hang Day Stadium will be the last chance for U23 Vietnam to compete for Coach Park to find the best players for SEA Games 31.