Highlights of U23 Vietnam's opening victory

A smooth start

After the first few tense minutes of the match, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's players gradually regained their confidence to put pressure on their opponents. However, it was not until the last minutes of the first half that striker Van Tung was able to put the U23 Vietnam team ahead with a delicate finish.

However, the fatal mistake of midfielder Ngoc Thang almost made the home team regret. The unnecessary foul in the penalty area by midfielder Hong Linh Ha Tinh made U23 Vietnam receive a penalty and a red card. On the penalty spot, striker Salman Mohammed easily scored the equalizer 1-1.

Fortunately for coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team, the brilliance of substitute striker Bui Vi Hao helped U23 Vietnam win 3-1.

With this victory, U23 Vietnam temporarily rose to the top of Group D (with 3 points but better goal difference than U23 Uzbekistan), thereby holding a big advantage in the race for a ticket to the quarter-finals.

The mark ofCoach Hoang Anh Tuan

It can be said that this is a match that bears the mark of coach Hoang Anh Tuan. This coach has made reasonable tactical adjustments to help U23 Vietnam overcome difficult times.

That was the replacement of injured Van Bac with midfielder Nguyen Van Truong. It was the Hanoi FC player who made a razor-sharp pass that tore apart the Kuwait U23 defense for striker Van Tung to score the opening goal.

Those were reasonable substitutions in the second half that helped U23 Vietnam have a good position and win. Notably, striker Bui Vi Hao was sent onto the field, and then the "youngster" of Becamex Binh Duong scored a double to seal a 3-1 victory. Along with that, the addition of center-back Manh Hung to ensure the stability of the home field for U23 Vietnam, after center-back Ngoc Thang received a red card.

Obviously, coach Hoang Anh Tuan has made better moves than his U23 Kuwait teammate to help his team win the opening match. Hopefully, in the upcoming matches, coach Hoang Anh Tuan will continue to come up with reasonable tactics to help U23 Vietnam get the best results.

The Game of Errors

If on the U23 Vietnam side, central defender Nguyen Ngoc Thang made a fatal mistake leading to a red card and a penalty, U23 Kuwait also made 3 serious mistakes in this match.

First was the red card for player Ebrahim Kameel after stomping on midfielder Khuat Van Khang. This was a situation where VAR intervened to help the referees make the final decision.

Along with that, two consecutive mistakes by goalkeeper Abdulrahman Marzouq caused the Gulf team to collapse in the second half. Most notably, the situation of shaky ball control in the 47th minute created conditions for Bui Vi Hao to easily increase the score to 2-1.

Vo Hoang Minh Khoa - the silent hero

Not Bui Vi Hao, not Nguyen Thai Son but Vo Hoang Minh Khoa was the best player of U23 Vietnam in the last match.

Becamex Binh Duong midfielder had a very productive day. Constantly present at hot spots, strong one-on-one disputes and actively participating in attacking situations, that is what Vo Hoang Minh Khoa showed in the match against U23 Kuwait. If luckier, this 23-year-old midfielder could have scored a goal for himself in this match.

Hopefully, in the upcoming matches, Vo Hoang Minh Khoa will continue to maintain this excellent form, thereby helping the home team achieve favorable results.

Winning the opening match, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team have had a favorable start in this year's tournament. Hopefully, U23 Vietnam will continue to improve themselves and have good luck to compete successfully at the 2024 U23 Asian Cup./.