Southeast Asian teams are gradually overcoming coach Park Hang-seo's 3-4-3 formation.

After the victory over U22 Indonesia, Coach Park Hang-seo has extended his personal records during his time leading the Vietnamese teams. Currently, the Korean coach is still undefeated against Southeast Asian teams.

From the perspective of U22 Vietnam, Coach Park Hang-seo has had a series of 13 "undefeated" matches, including 11 wins and 2 draws, scoring 40 goals and conceding 4 goals. However, when facing tough opponents, the goals scored are very few.

Except for the two easy victories against U22 Brunei and Laos at the recent SEA Games 30, there were a number of matches where opponents gradually overcame Coach Park Hang-seo's 3-4-3 formation. Among them, Indonesia is a proof.

In the match against this opponent in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, U22 Vietnam also had to rely on a brilliant performance from Trieu Viet Hung to win by a narrow margin. Up until the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the clearest evidence was the 2 goalless draws against Thailand.

U22 Indonesia is the latest team to cause difficulties for coach Park Hang-seo's playing style. Photo: Hai Hoang

Or even in the match against Malaysia, the Vietnam national team had to rely on a brilliant individual performance from Quang Hai to win all 3 points. And the most recent time against U22 Indonesia, the individual marks of Thanh Chung and Hoang Duc were undeniable.

In fact, the 3-4-3 or 5-2-3 or 5-4-1 formation when defending is actually a formation that favors counter-attacking defense. That is the reason why the Vietnam team only conceded 1 goal in 5 matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and 2 goals at the 30th SEA Games.

The chances of winning for the Vietnamese national team are only higher when facing opponents who are more attack-oriented and leave gaps behind, alternating between the defensive lines. At that time, players who play good counter-attacks will take advantage.

Through the dramatic victory over U22 Indonesia, viewers saw the extremely reasonable tactics of coach Indra Sjafri on the Indonesian side. He has been leading the Indonesian youth teams since 2011. During the match, Indonesia did not rush to attack and defended tightly, using small combinations and passing near the 16m50 area to escape.

Set pieces help U22 Vietnam improve their scoring. Photo: Hai Hoang

This was also clearly shown when they were given a goal by goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung's mistake. From the 23rd to the 64th minute, U22 Vietnam was helpless in front of the Indonesian goalkeeper's goal. And even when Thanh Chung equalized 1-1, it was not until the injury time that we got the second goal.

In terms of shot quality, we had 12 shots but only 6 were on target. Against Indonesia, Quang Hai and his teammates made the most of 11 corner kicks. When crosses to Van Hau as a wall were no longer effective, switching to other players like Thanh Chung was effective once.

With Indonesia's dense defensive arrangement, the Vietnamese players had to resort to long-range shooting. This is a common attacking option for any team when facing a deadlock. If Trong Hoang was the pioneer, at the decisive moment, Quang Hai, after a dispute, created space for Hoang Duc to create a masterpiece.

Coach Park Hang-seo transferred Trong Hoang to the U22 Vietnam team to play as a right winger (attacking midfielder). Photo: VFF

In an interview with the Korean press ahead of the 30th SEA Games, Coach Park Hang-seo left details about the tactical change open when admitting: "The current formation is clear and we have to decide whether to continue using it or not. The strategy must definitely be supplemented.

I also wonder about the problems if I use 2 strikers. You might think 5-4-1 is too defensive. But I think football needs to be pragmatic. It is okay against Southeast Asian teams but I am not sure 2 strikers will work against strong opponents. I want a team with fighting spirit but I am worried about changing.

After the draw against Thailand, Coach Park Hang-seo also hinted at improving the playing style of the Vietnam National Team, especially in the attack. This was demonstrated by Trong Hoang being moved up to play as a winger to create a breakthrough, the other wing belonged to Quang Hai.

Coach Park Hang-seo admitted that he had to change and improve the 3-4-3. Photo: Hai Hoang

In the match against U22 Brunei - a weak opponent, Coach Park Hang-seo began to experiment with a 2-striker formation with the presence of Duc Chinh and Tien Linh. And when it was necessary to reinforce the midfield, Quang Hai was pulled back to play as a central midfielder while Hoang Duc played freely but often advanced.

In fact, Southeast Asian teams are paying great attention to Quang Hai and he is forced to sacrifice himself to play the role of playmaker. Of course, Quang Hai will also break into the opponent's penalty area when necessary, the goal against Malaysia from Que Ngoc Hai's pass is an example.

Perhaps, the 3-4-3 formation of Coach Park Hang-seo is no longer new to Southeast Asian teams. However, the difference in class and human factors has helped the Vietnamese national team win in a thrilling way. From Anh Duc, Quang Hai, Thanh Chung to Hoang Duc.

Quang Hai plays lower and lower and has less favorable free kick situations. Photo TL: Xuan Thuy

In the upcoming matches, U22 Vietnam will meet U22 Singapore and U22 Thailand. Surely these two teams have carefully studied the playing style of coach Park Hang-seo and his team. Of course, everything will be much easier if goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung learns his lessons and does not force his teammates into difficult situations.

In the long run, at the national team level, when Phan Van Duc and Tran Dinh Trong return, coach Park Hang-seo will certainly have to find ways to improve the playing style. However, no matter what, he will still be loyal to the 5-defender formation.

Fans expect a team with a lot of attacking power, but unfortunately, Coach Park's top priority is defense and he himself has reacted to defend his opinion of not playing with 4 defenders. This means we will have to live in fear for a while longer.

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Trung Kien