Miura wants the Vietnam U23 team to continue playing long ball.

The head coach of the Vietnam U23 team continues to uphold a simple football philosophy as they prepare for the upcoming AFC U23 Asian Championship finals.

Goals from Mạnh Hùng and Văn Toàn helped Vietnam U23 draw 2-2 against Cerezo Osaka, despite falling behind twice, in a friendly match on the evening of December 17th at Hàng Đẫy Stadium (Hanoi). Coach Toshiya Miura stated that the two losses against the JFL Selection, a fourth-tier Japanese All-Star team, had given his players experience in facing opponents who play a fast-paced, high-pressing style.

"After the last two matches, the Vietnamese U23 players have become accustomed to the fast-paced pressing style of the Japanese players. They now have more ways to approach the opponent's goal. Of course, Osaka is stronger than JFL, but my players played well in this match," Coach Miura commented.

Coach Miura believes that playing neat football is key to helping the U23 team perform well in the upcoming finals. Photo: Lam Thoa.

During his two years in Vietnam, Coach Miura brought considerable success to Vietnamese football. He was even the first coach to lead the U23 team to the final of the U23 Asian Championship (held in Qatar in January 2016). However, he still faced criticism for his unstructured playing style, which relied more on physical strength than technique and primarily used long passes instead of short passes.

The coach, born in 1963, had good reasons for developing this playing style. “The U23 Vietnam players all have good ball control. But when facing strong opponents who play fast-paced, high-pressing football, they find it difficult to hold onto the ball for long. In the upcoming U23 Asian Championship finals, U23 Vietnam's opponents will all be such teams. Therefore, I have instructed the players, especially the defenders, to play the simplest football possible and not hesitate to play long balls. Of course, when there is space, they can hold onto the ball,” Miura emphasized.

"After three matches, the team has only scored two goals, which is not a high performance. The attacking players tend to pass the ball back and forth in front of the opponent's penalty area without being bold enough to shoot. I think the team needs to play more decisively and take more shots."

The Vietnam U23 team (in red) has about three weeks left before the big match. Photo: Lam Thoa.

During the press conference on December 16th, Coach Miura expressed his dissatisfaction with the players' fighting spirit after falling behind. Therefore, he spent time instructing his players on this issue before the match against Osaka. “I told the players not to think about winning. I complained to them about their fighting spirit in the previous two matches against JFL and told them to try until the very last minute. In the match against Osaka, when the score was 2-2, I also pushed the players to keep fighting. Although we didn't win, I'm glad they showed higher determination.”

According to VNE