Looking back at the journey of U23 Vietnam in the 2022 U23 Asian qualifiers

Immediately after the qualifying round draw results, most domestic football fans thought that,U23 Vietnamwill easily be present in the final round. Simply compared to the two remaining teams in Group I, U23 Chinese Taiwan and U23 Myanmar, Coach Park Hang-seo's team is rated much higher.

However, the reality did not turn out like that. In the opening match, it was thanks to a goal by left-back Le Van Xuan in the 81st minute that U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Taiwan China. The opposing team even had to play with one less player in the final minutes of the match.

U23 Vietnam players celebrate their goal. Photo: VFF

Entering the second match with U23 Myanmar, which is also the last match of Group I, the task of coach Park Hang-seo and his team is somewhat easier. Just a draw is enough for U23 Vietnam to lead U23 Myanmar to pass the qualifying round.

However, Nguyen Hai Long and his teammates did more than that. Thanks to the only goal of striker Ho Thanh Minh (minute 59), U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Myanmar with a score of 1-0, and also won a ticket to the final round with a perfect record and no goals conceded.

This is a somewhat lucky result for coach Park Hang-seo and his team. Because, from individuals to the collective, from defense to attack, the U23 Vietnam players have revealed too many shortcomings. If it weren't for luck and the opponent being too bad, it would be difficult for U23 Vietnam to leave Kyrgyzstan with 6 maximum points.

Coach Park Hang-seo still has a lot of work to do with U23 Vietnam. Photo: VFF

Objectively, U23 Vietnam had a more difficult journey than expected in Group I of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers. The quality of the squad and the condition of the pitch were the main reasons why the two performances of Nguyen Hai Long and his teammates in Kyrgyzstan did not meet the expectations of domestic football fans.

In any case, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team have completed the set task, although not really impressive. Fortunately, there is still quite a long time from now until the 2022 AFC U23 Championship, enough for the Korean strategist to overcome the existing problems of U23 Vietnam./.