U20 stopped but Van Khang and Van Truong will go far

U20 Vietnam started with 2 consecutive wins, but in the third match against a "tough" opponent, they lost 1-3 and officially stopped at the final round of the 2023 ASIAN CUP taking place in Uzbekistan.

Being eliminated just because of a poor goal difference is of course a sad and painful thing, something no one wants, especially those involved. But football is full of surprises, the strong team often does not necessarily win against the weak team, so winning or losing in a decisive match is often just a matter of luck. There is no such thing as “if only” in football, but we all regret that if Van Khang’s free kick had been luckier, U20 Vietnam would have really poured cold water on the powerful U20 Iran team and the game could have been different. And if Quoc Viet’s close-range header had been more dangerous, U20 Vietnam would have had a 2-2 draw and would have had a happy ending, would have passed the group stage and even finished first in the group?

But whatever is said, U20 Iran is a strong team with good physique and fitness and they know how to promote that strength against U20 Vietnam, after more than 30 minutes of hard work. That is, aerial combat, passing the ball behind the central defenders, exploiting the physical weaknesses of the opponent's fullbacks. U20 Vietnam, after being led, was reinforced to play a series of attacks and scored a goal 1-1 thanks to Van Khang. Once again, the positions that were not playing at their best but had to play 3 consecutive matches gradually revealed their weaknesses so that the substitute players of U20 Iran could accelerate past and coordinate to score. U20 Vietnam had to focus on attacking in their weak areas, so it was inevitable that they would lose the 3rd goal.

Not getting past the group stage in a continental tournament is not a terrible defeat, nor is it an inconsolable pain. Losing to Iran is not something to think about. However, with the opening two wins against two big opponents, U20 Australia and U20 Qatar, and having an advantage in terms of mentality and results, U20 Vietnam losing from a set piece is a pity even though the players tried very hard. The fact that Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan changed 3 key personnel in the first half such as Van Truong, Quoc Viet and Van Cuong could be one of the reasons for weakening the squad, which will be discussed a lot after the match and the whole tournament. Although Hong Phuc had a pass to create a very commendable equalizer for Van Khang, overall the performance of this defender was disappointing. The error of not marking closely by Duc Anh and... Van Khang could be the reason for U20 Iran's opening goal, making things more difficult and heavier. The second goal was due to Duc Anh's inability to keep up with the left wing, making the central defenders useless against the U20 Iran's practice-like combination of goals. The physical weakness and even more physical weakness was when U20 Vietnam could not coordinate coherently, making more mistakes and missing shots, which was also when the opponent took advantage of the opportunity to turn the match in a favorable and irreversible direction.

In the third match, U20 Vietnam could not play defense as expected, could not play sharp counter-attacks as their forte, so defeat was understandable. This also proves that U20 Vietnam is easy to predict as the head coach of U20 Iran, Mr. Marfavi, said, although they affirmed that U20 Vietnam is a strong team, not worthy of being eliminated from the tournament. In a continental tournament, it is inevitable that they will have to face strong opponents. U20 Vietnam entered the tournament with high confidence, reasonable tactics, promoting talent along with indomitable will are things that need to be noted. But clearly that is not enough when the main squad is not really even, the reserve force is thin, not enough physical strength, skills, tactics to play long distance, really difficult when facing big opponents...

There is no success without failure, even bitter failure. Not being able to pass the group stage of the U20 continental tournament has helped U20 Vietnam learn many valuable lessons that are not easy to come by. Not reaching the achievements of the seniors Quang Hai and Hoang Duc, but the future is certainly wide open for Van Binh, Nguyen Hoang, Duc Viet, Van Truong, Quoc Viet and especially Van Khang. These could be the bright names that will soon be present in U22 Vietnam to participate in the upcoming 32nd SEA Games, a launching pad for them to go far and far ahead.,.

Hoa Bui