Vietnamese players help Saigon FC beat Afghanistan

Viet Phong’s goal was a bit lucky when an Afghan defender missed the ball. That was also the mark of the closed practice match between the two teams. The referee only gave out 1 yellow card in this match and it was given to Saigon FC.

Viet Phong is not on the list of Vietnam national team this time. He is training with Saigon FC and playing friendly matches before V.League 2022 returns in early July. This is his first season with the new team.

Afghanistan team completed a warm-up match before playing Vietnam team on June 1. Photo: NYT.

Starting from May 28, the Vietnamese team's opponents will move from Thanh Long Sports Center to another headquarters. They will have 4 days to prepare for the match against Coach Park Hang-seo and his team at Thong Nhat Stadium on June 1.

The Vietnam team also started moving to Ho Chi Minh City at noon on May 28 on flight number QH245. The team is expected to arrive at Tan Son Nhat airport at 4:25 p.m. The training and activity schedule will be announced by the Vietnam Football Federation.

There is not much information about the Afghanistan team for Mr. Park Hang-seo and his colleagues. This is a friendly match during the FIFA Days to calculate points on the FIFA rankings. The Vietnam team only plays 1 match during this period.

Why did Man Utd choose Ten Hag?

"Ten Hag shows passion, energy and enthusiasm for the challenge," Murtough said during a meeting on the club's fan forum.

Ten Hag impressed with his long-term vision, his desire to build an attractive club with a philosophy that fits with the Man Utd identity, his commitment to attacking football, his emphasis on developing young players, his champion status and his passion for challenges. However, Murtough also asked Man Utd fans to be patient as the 52-year-old coach rebuilds the club, although he praised Ten Hag as a champion with an impressive record at Ajax.

Ten Hag is expected to be the perfect choice for Man Utd in their revival efforts. Photo: manutd.com

Murtough said changes are also being made at Carrington to support the players and staff in their quest to get the club back to the top. Some of these involve the scouting and selection team, where Murtough has been strengthening structures and processes. Man Utd’s use of data in areas such as match preparation and selection has been improved, thanks to the appointment of the club’s first director of data science.

Murtough also plans to improve the club's infrastructure to maintain its world-class status. "The most important thing is to create the right environment and culture for the players to be able to develop their abilities," he said.

Meanwhile, CEO Richard Arnold - who took over from Ed Woodward in February - admitted that Man Utd had a disappointing season and hoped Ten Hag would bring a breath of fresh air. He also pledged to strongly reform to bring Man Utd back to its former position, competing for titles.

"The appointment of Ten Hag is of the utmost importance," Arnold said. "We are delighted to have appointed a new manager so soon and are looking forward to starting a new era. Manchester United will not be successful overnight, but we are determined and will continue to work hard to do so. I hope our fans will look forward to next season with renewed optimism and belief as we look forward to a fresh start under Ten Hag."

U23 Vietnam practices super attacking formation, high-level pressing

“In the past few days, Coach Gong has been training the players in tactics with an attacking tendency based on the 4-3-3 formation. Unlike Coach Park Hang-seo, instead of playing defensive counter-attacks, the new coach wants us to play more offensively with small passing drills,” midfielder Van Cong shared before the training session on the evening of May 26.

Starting from the second training session during the training trip in the UAE, U23 Vietnam showed that the system was getting into gear when the group of players who had just returned from SEA Games 31 clearly showed their ability to quickly adapt to coach Gong Oh Kyun's tactical intentions as well as integrate into the team's overall playing style.

In recent training sessions, Coach Gong Oh Kyun has increased the amount of physical activity, with the content of training on how to play high pressing, how to move, coordinate and finish the goal in a narrow area. Different from Coach Park Hang-seo's requirement to emphasize solidity in defense, Coach Gong Oh Kyun is an attacking player. He wants to build U23 Vietnam to play an imposing attacking game with a 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 formation.

U23 Vietnam is actively practicing to play a new formation under coach Gong Oh Kyun. Photo: VFF

The new attacking style of play that the new Korean head coach is applying to the U23 Vietnam team requires great flexibility and mobility from the players. The current U23 Vietnam team has a foundation of experienced defense and an attack that has played together for many years in the youth teams. In addition, the ability to control, circulate the ball and quickly finish when there is any opportunity is also a factor that creates the strength of this style of play.

That is also what coach Gong Oh Kyun and his colleagues in the coaching staff are trying to train their students. The good news is that the U23 Vietnam players have shown progress through each training session, and their physical foundation has also been maintained quite well, helping them to fully absorb the proposed training program.

On the evening of May 27, the Vietnam U23 team will have another training session before entering the test of personnel and playing style with a friendly match with the UAE U23 team, taking place on the evening of May 28. This is a match serving the professional work of both teams in preparation for the U23 Asian Cup, so it will take place in an empty stadium and there will also be no press activities.