The miracle didn't happen!

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite being expected to spring a surprise in the match on the afternoon of October 9th against the South Korean U19 team, Coach Guillaume Graechen's players only managed to hold out for the first 44 minutes. With their superior class, the South Korean U19 team easily defeated the Vietnamese U19 team with a 6-0 victory!

At this year's AFC U19 Championship, our U19 players are in Group C – a group dubbed the "group of death" due to the presence of Japan, South Korea, and China. Based on their performances in recent tournaments, Vietnamese football fans are still hoping for some kind of miraculous breakthrough from the players trained at the HAGL-JMG-Arsenal academy, so that the Vietnam U19 team can overcome the giants in their group.

Right from their opening match, the Vietnam U19 team faced a formidable opponent in South Korea U19, a team that had won the tournament 12 times and was the reigning champion. To defend their title, coach Kim Sang-ho called up all the young talents currently playing abroad, such as Paik Seung-Ho (recruited by the Catalan giant La Masia academy on a 5-year contract), Kim Young-gyu (who previously trained at Real Madrid's youth academy and played for Almeria's first team in La Liga), Kim Seung-Ju (Orange County Blues FC), Kim Shin (Lyon's youth team), etc., to join the squad.

"Korean Messi" Paik Seung-Ho (in red shirt)

In terms of achievements and reputation, the Vietnam U19 team is clearly inferior to the South Korea U19 team, but that doesn't mean Coach Guillaume Graechen's players are intimidated when facing their opponent. In recent tournaments, our players have competed against renowned teams from famous training academies around the world, such as AS Roma U19 and Tottenham U19 at the 2014 NutiFood International U19 Cup, or Arsenal U19 during their training trip to England earlier this year.

Entering the match, both teams didn't rush to push forward, instead playing defensively in their own half, waiting for opportunities to counter-attack. With this close-marking style of play, there weren't many attacking moves towards each other's goal. It wasn't until the end of the first half that players from both sides pushed forward in search of a goal. At this point, it was the Vietnamese U19 team that played proactively and created dangerous chances towards their opponent's goal. Most notably, in the 43rd minute, from a free kick 35 meters by Xuan Truong, Tien Dung headed the ball with great force, but it hit the crossbar of the South Korean U19 goal. Immediately, South Korea responded with a beautiful combination between their number 9 and number 10 players, with Kim Gunhee facing goalkeeper Le Van Truong and lobbing the ball over the Vietnamese goalkeeper's head, but the ball also went just over the crossbar.

Despite their best efforts, captain Cong Phuong and the Vietnam U19 team were unable to spring a surprise against South Korea U19.

In a closely contested match, in the final minute of the first half, from a corner kick, taking advantage of their height, the South Korean players rose high to head the ball. Goalkeeper Van Truong fumbled the ball, allowing striker Lee Jeongbin to rush in and open the scoring, much to the disappointment of the Vietnamese fans. It was a regrettable goal conceded, especially considering we had created many opportunities and our morale was high.

With superior physique and fitness, in the second half, the South Korean U19 team adopted their signature style of play, which had previously helped them maintain their dominance in continental competitions: "total attack," to disrupt the opposing defense and force them into making mistakes.

Faced with the relentless attacks from the South Korean players, the Vietnamese U19 defense began to show weaknesses. Seizing these opportunities, the South Korean forwards capitalized on them to finish off their opponents. Goals were scored steadily for South Korea, leaving the Vietnamese defense helpless. These goals showcased their superior class. In the 55th minute, Park Jeawoo dribbled at speed down the right wing before passing to Kim Gunhee. The South Korean number 10 controlled the ball neatly before unleashing a powerful shot, increasing the score to 2-0. In the 60th minute, Shim Jehyeok rose high to head the ball accurately into the net, making it 3-0. Towards the end of the match, the Vietnamese U19 defense became exhausted and unable to mark their opponents, allowing them to easily score three more goals in the 65th, 79th, and 90+2 minutes.

The goals scored by the South Korean U19 team showcased their excellent physical condition and modern tactics. They knew how to wear down their opponents and wait until they were exhausted before scoring... exactly the way they wanted!

Facing a much stronger opponent, our players did not give up but fought until the very last minute. With great effort, the U19 Vietnam players created several opportunities to narrow the score, but strikers Tuan Tai, Van Toan, Van Duc, and Cong Phuong all proved quite wasteful in front of the opponent's goal. This is perhaps the biggest regret of the match, because if our players had successfully capitalized on one of the opportunities they created, the score difference would not have been so large and would have given them confidence for the following matches.

Watch the match replay here:

With their overwhelming victory over Vietnam U19, South Korea U19 demonstrated their top-tier Asian class and are the strongest contenders for this year's championship. As for Vietnam U19, to overcome this "group of death," besides giving their all, they still rely on the brilliance of stars like Cong Phuong and Van Toan to create surprises against Japan U19 and China U19 in the remaining two matches.

Duc Dung

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