How determined and flexible was Mr. Troussier at SEA Games 32?

It was quite a surprise when Mr. Philippe Troussier fielded a U22 Vietnam squad against U22 Malaysia similar to the opening match against U22 Laos and most of the match against U22 Singapore with Van Chuan in goal, the trio of central defenders Tien Long, Quang Thinh, Tuan Tai; the wingback pair Minh Trong, Van Cuong; the central midfielder duo Thai Son, Duc Phu; the attacking trio Van Do, Van Tung, Thanh Nhan. Of course, U22 Vietnam will have adjustments in the second half with the appearance of Van Khang, Cong Den, Quoc Viet...

If in the opening match, the central midfielder pair Thai Son - Duc Phu were considered "not strong enough" to take charge of the midfield, then up to now, all doubts and hesitations about these two young factors have disappeared. These are the "lungless" players with a wide range of activities, high capacity, running tirelessly with statistics of running 10-11 km in each match, not inferior to players of the Premier League. These two factors have contributed to breaking the opponent's playing style, blocking all exposed gaps, not allowing the opponent to exploit, not giving the opponent time to deploy attacking intentions according to the pre-planned plan.

It was not until the third most important match of the group stage that U22 Vietnam saw the determination of the wingback pair Minh Trong - Van Cuong. They were the real "detonator" leading to goals, especially in the match against U22 Malaysia with nothing to lose, with the unexpected appearance of Minh Trong: The shot caused the opposing player to let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area, the wonderful assist for Van Tung to jump up and head the ball into the opponent's net. In this match, on the opposite right side, Van Cuong also had a chance but unfortunately the shot of the defender of Song Lam Nghe An went just wide of the post.

The French coach's determination gradually brought confidence to each of his key players and the entire team, especially when facing strong opponents. Van Tung scored 4 goals in 3 matches, including a double against U22 Malaysia, a worthy reward for the coaching staff's confidence when previously his players were always silent against big and small opponents.

U22 Vietnam grew up and became more confident in each match, not only winning 3 consecutive matches in the group stage to get an early ticket to the semi-finals, but importantly, building trust even though operating a new playing style with a new coach, it was inevitable that there would be initial confusion.

What is worth mentioning about the new coach in the victory over U22 Malaysia, besides the perseverance just demonstrated above, is the necessary flexibility for each match, each context. In the third important match, the rainy and slippery field made it impossible for the team to control the ball as usual, and even more so, unable to impose the game when the opponent had no way back after the previous defeat against U22 Thailand, who had attacked continuously. But U22 Vietnam, right from the first coordination phase of the match, played long balls differently than usual. The two goals scored quickly in the first half also came from long balls, in which Minh Trong's excellence on the right wing was an unexpected and interesting mark, Tuan Tai's long pass reiterated the inherent strength of this Nghe An player, which had been shown many times before. It is also necessary to mention the coach's use of Duc Phu when he was in the central midfielder position, when he was in the right full-back position. Van Cuong mainly plays on the right wing, but when needed, he switches to the left wing, as at the end of the match against U22 Malaysia, showing the flexibility of the coach and the versatility of the pillars when the team has specific requests.

Of course, U22 Vietnam played a comprehensive pressing game throughout the first half, making the opponent confused and bankrupting the game. In the second half, they proactively gave up the field to play defense - counterattack just like the time of Mr. Park Hang-seo and also brought the expected success. It is very interesting that Van Tung is the one who often puts pressure on the opponent's defense with his recent brilliant performances. When the coach replaced this striker a bit early in the second half of the match against U22 Malaysia, it was clear that the replacement Van Khang had a lot of potential but could not achieve the wishes that the coach had entrusted. It is also unclear why Van Truong and Xuan Tien continue to be "hidden" so carefully in this important match?

When U22 is sure to have a ticket to the semi-finals, when the last match of the group stage is only 2 days off from the semi-finals, of course U22 Vietnam must calculate and save energy for the pillars. That means the long-time reserve factors will have a chance in the match against the strongest opponent in the group, U22 Thailand.

In theory, it seems that U22 Vietnam accepts defeat to its opponent and does not care about the top spot in the group? But who knows, with a relaxed spirit, not having to spend much energy in the recent matches, the second squad of U22 Vietnam will make the "unrivaled team" dizzy and lose themselves like U22 Malaysia recently?

Obviously, the victory over U22 Malaysia has relieved the psychological burden, proving the belief and strength of U22 Vietnam and its players after a period of renewal and experimentation, after the determined and extremely flexible steps of the French coach.

The two biggest opponents ahead of U22 Vietnam, U22 Thailand and U22 Indonesia, must have been startled by the "White Witch" and Van Tung and his teammates. Remember, despite the ferocity of U22 Thailand, it took more than 70 minutes to defeat the "tigers" of Malaysia. Meanwhile, U22 Vietnam took less than 10 minutes to "enter the cave to catch the tiger" and after 35 minutes, made the opponent pick the ball out of the net twice! U22 Vietnam is gradually proving which is the real "tiger"?

Bui Hoa