What strategy for U23 Vietnam in the U23 Asian finals?

However, from here, there are some notable problems for coach Philippe Troussier and his team if they do not want to be eliminated early in the upcoming U23 Asian Finals when facing the continent's top opponents.

In the final match, Mr. Troussier arranged a lineup that was mainly considered as a reserve, 2 players who had been in the starting lineup in the previous 2 matches, defender Ngoc Thang and midfielder Thai Son, were also present from the beginning. But as Mr. Troussier said, "the reserve players who decide the match" such as Van Khang, Vy Hao... were now in the starting lineup. In fact, the lineup against Singapore only had the "real reserve" players before, namely goalkeeper Van Binh, defender Duc Anh, Nhat Nam, the rest were in the lineup, and there was no surprise when their names were called.

And in a comfortable position for both,U23 Vietnamfreely holding the ball, 85% of the whole match, achieving the goal of "ball control" as required by the French coach. Unlike the previous 2 matches, U23 Vietnam opened the score from the 12th minute from a penalty scored by striker Dinh Bac, so everything was easier for Mr. Troisier's students. With the motto of letting all the remaining players enter the field, meaning that all those called up can enjoy the atmosphere of the continental qualifying round, without pressure to win, freely demonstrating their abilities and qualities, so in general, U23 Vietnam has almost revealed everything they have acquired through the concentration process, at the same time also revealed weaknesses that everyone can easily recognize, even though they only faced an average opponent.

First of all, the ability to defend against high balls and the ability to handle set pieces. After the match, Mr. Troussier praised U23 Vietnam and Vietnamese football for their ability to make good use of set pieces (Vy Hao's goal from Van Khang's corner kick in the 85th minute of the match against U23 Yemen is the most convincing example, not to mention the 2 goals in the most recent match against U23 Singapore). It should be said that in a corner kick situation of the opponent, defender Hong Phuc let the ball hit his back and fly into his own net, meaning that the full-back's poor ability to defend high balls has harmed the home team, something that needs to be learned from quickly if Hong Phuc is still on the field as a defensive player. With a corner kick like that, the highest requirement is to make accurate judgments to clear the ball or to closely mark and resolutely not give the opponent a chance to finish the situation. Of course, if the three central defenders were Quang Thinh, Tuan Tai and Ngoc Thang, the problem might be different. But to see, even with Ngoc Thang, Duy Cuong, Duc Anh and Hong Phuc did not complete their mission in this noteworthy situation.

The second goal conceded by U23 Vietnam was a situation where they were absorbed in attacking and were counterattacked. In a 2-on-2 situation, Duy Cuong and Duc Anh could do nothing against the agility and determination of their opponents with the motto of lurking and waiting for the right moment, and they succeeded. It was U23 Vietnam under Mr. Troussier who abandoned the traditional "defensive - counter-attack" style of play to move towards "controlling the ball and attacking". When facing an opponent playing defensive - counter-attack, Duy Cuong and his teammates did not have any specific plan to counter the opponent, fell into the trap in a split second and were full of regret. Of course, the fault here lies with the defensive midfielders. Thai Son has been working hard for 3 consecutive matches and seems to be subjective after putting all his trust in his coach. His partner Minh Khoa did not play well in the match against U23 Guam, but when he returned, he still did not show any progress compared to his teammate Duc Phu.

Another thing that is easy to see is that many players will only play well if they come on from the bench and the story of U23 Vietnam is no exception. Van Khang, Vy Hao, Dinh Bac and even the "trump card" Van Cuong, who played extremely well in the match against strong opponent U23 Yemen, have not shown anything outstanding since entering the match. That is also the common deadlock of U23 Vietnam when the opponent allows them to freely hold the ball, pass it back and forth harmlessly, but when entering the penalty area, they are truly deadlocked in front of the tight, flexible defensive walls that the opponent flexibly sets up.

The question is, when they reach the final round of the U23 Asian Cup, even if they want to, U23 Vietnam will find it difficult to keep the ball when the opponent completely surrounds and disrupts the playing style of coach Troussier and his team. At that time, will U23 Vietnam have any proactive strategies, how flexible and flexible can they be to win and maintain the game, to score goals systematically and not by chance, luck, commonly known as "turtle"?

It's difficult, if you recall what U23 Vietnam has shown in the recent matches, especially the recent 2 goals conceded by U23 Singapore in the context of a blunt attack and a sharp counter-attack, then a sharp defeat? And don't forget that a football expert once commented that Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan's U23 seems to be more flexible and proactive than the U23 led by Mr. Troussier.

Let's wait patiently to see how U23 Vietnam, with its strongest and most carefully selected squad, will perform when it "goes out to sea" in the upcoming difficult U23 Asian Finals./.