Looking back at the journey of the Vietnam U23 team in the group stage of the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Championship.
(Baonghean.vn) - With two wins and one loss, the Vietnam U23 team secured second place in Group D. This is a commendable effort by coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team, especially considering that Vietnamese football is gradually losing its standing in the region.
Make the most of the opportunities that come your way.
Despite not playing exceptionally well, U23 Vietnam's ability to capitalize on opportunities helped them achieve good results in this year's tournament. This included a skillful goal by Nguyen Van Tung, Minh Khoa's coolness from the penalty spot, Bui Vi Hao's opportunism, and Khuat Van Khang's moment of brilliance. All of this contributed to U23 Vietnam's two victories against U23 Kuwait and U23 Malaysia, securing their place in the quarter-finals one match early.
Hopefully, as they advance to the quarterfinals, the Vietnam U23 team will continue to make good use of their opportunities to win against the Iraq U23 team.
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's mark
Although he was only a stopgap solution to replace coach Philippe Troussier, coach Hoang Anh Tuan helped Vietnamese football "revive" after a series of disappointing days.
Due to limited time to take over, the 56-year-old coach implemented tactics designed for the players to adapt as easily as possible. This included his signature counter-attacking strategy, which has brought much success to Vietnamese football under coach Park Hang-seo.
In addition, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's excellent game reading and quick substitutions helped the Vietnam U23 team gain an advantage against their opponents. It can be said that coach Hoang Anh Tuan played a very significant role in Vietnam U23's achievement of reaching the quarterfinals.
There are still many mistakes.
As a young team, mistakes are inevitable. Errors that nearly cost the Vietnam U23 team dearly, such as Nguyen Ngoc Thang's foul, are something our team must avoid in the quarter-finals.
During this tournament, Vietnamese fans have had many heart-stopping moments when VAR technology intervened. This is because there were quite a few "unnecessary actions" and overly aggressive tackles from the young players. If they don't learn from these mistakes in the next match, our team will pay the price for these moments of recklessness.
Along with that is the lack of cohesion among the players. In the recent matches, the connection between the lines has not been clear, with quite a few instances of misplaced passes or players stepping on each other's toes. Therefore, this is something that coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team must improve before entering the crucial match against U23 Iraq.
A valuable defeat.
The 0-3 defeat against Uzbekistan U23 was a game that offered many benefits for Vietnam U23. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team had the opportunity to gain experience against a strong opponent before entering the quarter-finals. The lessons learned from this match will be invaluable for our young players.
Furthermore, the defeat against Uzbekistan U23 "helped" Vietnam U23 secure second place in Group D. With this position, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team only has to face Iraq U23 instead of the defending champions Saudi Arabia U23.
With the tournament bracket including U23 Iraq and U23 Qatar, Vietnamese fans are dreaming of a repeat of the 2018 Changzhou tournament.
Hopefully, the Vietnam U23 team will perform excellently in the upcoming match to bring more joy to the fans at home.
