Vietnam U19 team lost to a club from Korea

This afternoon (July 10), the Vietnam U19 team had a practice match with the U21 Avenir Club from Korea. This is a "blue team" that is considered very high quality for coach Hua Hien Vinh and his team in the final stage of preparation for the 2024 Southeast Asian U19 Championship.

After the practice match against U21 Hanoi Police, in this match, coach Hua Hien Vinh continued to experiment with personnel by renewing the entire starting lineup and giving priority to players who joined the team late to enter the field.

Facing an opponent from Korea with superior physique and a power-oriented playing style, the U19 Vietnam team still confidently pushed up their formation to play high pressing right from the start of the match. This surprised the U21 Avenir players and forced them to retreat to defend.

However, with the advantage of ball-fighting ability and speed in transition, U21 Avenir Club proved to be quite dangerous in counter-attacks. Notably, the shot hit the post of U19 Vietnam's goal in the 5th minute of the match.

In general, the U19 Vietnam players controlled the ball and organized more attacks than the other team in the first half. However, the final coordination was still not sharp enough to create clear opportunities. The highlight of the first half of U19 Vietnam was Long Vu's unexpected shot from outside the penalty area in the 32nd minute, the ball went out of reach of U21 goalkeeper Avenir but hit the junction between the crossbar and the post.

In the second half, coach Hua Hien Vinh continued to adjust the personnel according to the developments on the field with 8 players being brought onto the field one by one, including Vietnamese-American midfielder Ho Huu Hung. The team also adjusted the playing strategy with a low formation to practice defense and test the flexibility in switching from defense to attack of the players.

Meanwhile, U21 Avenir continued to promote their physical strength and power to besiege the U19 Vietnam goal. However, it was thanks to a direct free kick outside the penalty area in the 62nd minute that the opposing team was able to score the opening goal 1-0. This was also the final result of the match, because in the remaining time, despite trying to push up the formation to find an equalizer, U19 Vietnam failed to successfully take advantage of the opportunities created.

In an interview after the practice match, coach Hua Hien Vinh said: "In this training session, U19 Vietnam has gathered the best players from the 2005 - 2007 generation.

Over the past week, we have tried to create cohesion for the whole team, forcing them into the style of play that the coaching staff is aiming for. In today's practice match, the new players have not yet reached their best form and playing condition, so they have not yet fulfilled the requirements of the coaching staff in implementing the style of play. However, I believe that in a few days the whole team will be able to play more smoothly."

In the match against U21 Avenir, coach Hua Hien Vinh also created conditions for new Vietnamese-American player Ho Huu Hung to enter the field in the second half. This player just joined the U19 Vietnam team on July 6 after a long flight from the Czech Republic, so he did not have enough time to integrate well with his teammates.

Initial assessment of Ho Huu Hung's performance, coach Hua Hien Vinh said: "Ho Huu Hung has relatively good basic techniques and can play on both sides. However, Hung has just returned to the country and has only practiced 3 sessions, so he needs more time to integrate. Hung's advantage is knowing Vietnamese and being able to grasp the exchanges between teammates and the coaching staff."

According to the plan, tomorrow (July 11), the Vietnam U19 team will move to Ho Chi Minh City to continue training before taking the flight to Indonesia on the morning of July 16. Before moving to Ho Chi Minh City, coach Hua Hien Vinh will shorten the list to 26 players.

“The coaching staff will evaluate the players based on their performance in domestic tournaments, their confidence in playing football, their spirit and will to compete. Young players with poor spirit will find it difficult to improve their skills,” coach Hua Hien Vinh shared about the criteria for selecting players for the official list of the 2024 Southeast Asian U19 Championship of the Vietnam U19 team./.