Who will be dropped from the Vietnam U22 team?

(Baonghean.vn) - In yesterday's training match(12/7) withFor the First Division team Viettel, coach Huu Thang fielded a starting lineup exactly as planned.Identifying the core squad of the Vietnam U22 team for the 29th SEA Games."Published on Nghe An Newspaper's online edition. While the starting lineup has performed reasonably well, the reserve players are causing considerable concern.".

Yesterday afternoon (July 12th), before departing for Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the 2018 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam U22 team had a valuable training match against Viettel, a team from the First Division. As we predicted, coach Huu Thang fielded his best players.

The starting lineup included: goalkeeper Minh Long, Van Thanh, Tien Dung, Van Khanh, Van Hau, Duy Manh, Tuan Anh, Quang Hai, Van Toan, Cong Phuong, and Duc Chinh. Of course, the Vietnam U22 team played with the 4-1-4-1 formation favored by coach Huu Thang.

Duy Mạnh played as the defensive midfielder, Đức Chinh as the striker, and Văn Thanh switched to right back. Young center-back Văn Khánh of SLNA partnered with Tiến Dũng, and Công Phượng wore the captain's armband, playing as an attacking midfielder on the left wing.

Midfield test

Unable to use Xuan Truong, coach Huu Thang gave Duy Manh, Tuan Anh, and Quang Hai the opportunity to form a triangle controlling the midfield. Midfielder Luong Xuan Truong will rejoin the Vietnam U22 team tomorrow (July 14th) in Ho Chi Minh City.

The worst player in the Vietnam U22 team's lineup at the VFF Youth Training Center was captain Cong Phuong. Photo: Internet

Against a weaker opponent, Quang Hai, Duc Chinh, and especially Van Thanh played quite well. After a few minutes of pressure, the Vietnam U22 team scored the opening goal when Van Thiet of Viettel scored an own goal from a cross by Quang Hai.

Throughout the first half, the Vietnam U22 team had several good scoring opportunities, but Van Toan and Duc Chinh both missed them, while captain Cong Phuong remained rather lackluster. Near the end of the first half, Van Thanh dribbled the ball and delivered a perfect cross for Duc Chinh to skillfully backheel the ball into the net, increasing the score to 2-0.

That was the first goal scored by the SHB Da Nang striker in the U22 national team jersey. Although this was only a training match, this goal was still very important for Duc Chinh and helped boost the morale of the entire team.

The Viettel First Division players didn't compete too aggressively for the ball, so the midfield didn't fully showcase its potential. Young defender Van Hau, making his debut for the Vietnam U22 team, had what could be considered a successful match.

The worst player in the Vietnam U22 team's lineup at the VFF Youth Training Center was Cong Phuong. He received quite a lot of passes from his teammates but failed to create any significant dangerous situations.

The worry about being a substitute.

In the second half, coach Huu Thang replaced the entire lineup, including: goalkeeper Tien Dung, Thanh Thinh (Tan Tai), Dinh Trong - Tan Sinh, Van Kien, Dong Trieu (Tien Dung), Duc Huy, Ti Phong, Hong Duy, Anh Tai, and Thanh Binh.

Tested in the central midfield position, Dong Trieu failed to impress, noticeably weakening the U22 team's defensive capabilities from afar. Coach Huu Thang had to bring in Tien Dung as a replacement to improve their ability to intercept attacks from a distance.

Van Toan (9) has not yet returned to form after his injury. Photo: Internet

On the left wing, Thanh Tinh also caused concern for the coaching staff as he constantly allowed Viettel players to exploit his flank. Despite playing in their preferred positions, Duc Huy and Hong Duy made too many misplaced passes and were unable to score any more goals.

Furthermore, U22 conceded a goal to Viettel at the beginning of the second half, and the final score was 2-1 in favor of U22 Vietnam. Striker Le Thanh Binh made an impression with a header that hit the post in the second half.

Compared to the training camp in May, when the Vietnam U22 team was also held to a goalless draw by Viettel, Coach Huu Thang's players showed more promise in this match.

However, facing an opponent who had just trained hard that morning, the Vietnamese U22 players still didn't create many scoring opportunities, which has caused some concern for the coaching staff. Besides goalkeeper Van Truong's injury, if there is no improvement, it's very likely that players like Thanh Tinh and Dong Trieu will have to say goodbye to the U22 team.

AT