Asian newspapers point out the challenges of U23 Vietnam; 'Not having Hung Dung is the biggest worry'

"Not having Hung Dung is the biggest worry of U23 Vietnam"

Without Do Hung Dung, the U23 Vietnam midfield lacks a midfielder who plays with abundant energy and excels in both attacking and defensive roles.

After the success at SEA Games 30, the U23 Vietnam team that went to Thailand to attend the 2020 AFC U23 Championship finals did not include Do Hung Dung and Nguyen Trong Hoang. The absence of two positions was a real concern for coach Park Hang-seo, because Hung Dung and Trong Hoang had proven their irreplaceable roles at SEA Games 30.

Under coach Park, Hung Dung emerged as the leading midfielder of Vietnamese football. Photo: Minh Chien.

Regarding this issue, famous player Van Sy Hung commented: "Not having Hung Dung is the biggest concern of U23 Vietnam in this year's tournament. No player is capable of 100% replacing his role. We are waiting for the talent of coach Park Hang-seo to find a new boss for the midfield."

U23 Vietnam - U23 UAE: Beginning a historic journey?

U23 Vietnam is determined to make history with a ticket to the Olympics and the match against UAE this afternoon will be the opening act of that journey.

In the opening match, coach Park Hang-seo and his team will face UAE and a victory will help U23 Vietnam start smoothly and get closer to their set goal.

Coach Park Hang-seo has made careful calculations to help U23 Vietnam achieve the best results in the opening match of the U23 Asia Championship. Photo: Ngoc Duy

Regarding the force, in this afternoon's match, U23 Vietnam will not have the service of Tan Tai due to suspension while the possibility of Dinh Trong and Thanh Thinh playing is still uncertain. Meanwhile, Mohammed Jumaa of UAE suffered a serious injury and had to say goodbye to the tournament.

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Asian newspapers point out the challenges of U23 Vietnam

Livesportasia newspaper pointed out 2 reasons why the U23 Vietnam team will have to try much harder if they want to repeat the achievement in China 2 years ago.

"The U23 Vietnam team will face many difficulties to continue to create miracles like at the 2018 U23 Asia, where they defeated Australia, Iraq and Qatar to advance to the final," LiveSportAsia writer Arnaur Ray said about U23 Vietnam.

U23 Vietnam no longer has 8 out of 11 players who started in the 2018 final. Photo: Hoang Ha.

This afternoon, January 10, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will begin their journey at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship finals with a match against U23 UAE.

Match schedule and live broadcast of AFC U23 Championship 2020 today (January 10): Vietnam U23 opens against UAE U23

Today (January 10), our U23 Vietnam will have their opening match in Group D against U23 UAE while U23 DPRK will meet U23 Jordan.

Match schedule and live broadcast of AFC U23 Championship 2020 today (January 10).