The Vietnam U19 team lost to a club from South Korea.
The Vietnam U19 team lost to the Avenir U21 team from South Korea in a friendly match this afternoon.
This afternoon (July 10th), the Vietnam U19 team had a training match with the Avenir U21 Club from South Korea. This is considered a high-quality opponent for coach Hua Hien Vinh's team in the final stages of preparation for the 2024 Southeast Asian U19 Championship.
Following the training match against Hanoi Police U21, coach Hua Hien Vinh continued his personnel experiments in this match by completely overhauling the starting lineup and prioritizing players who joined the training camp late to play.
Despite facing a physically superior South Korean opponent with a more power-oriented playing style, the Vietnam U19 team confidently pushed their formation high up the pitch and employed a high-pressure pressing strategy from the start of the match. This caught the Avenir U21 players by surprise and forced them to retreat into defense.
However, with their advantage in ball winning ability and speed in transitions, the Avenir U21 Club proved quite dangerous in counter-attacks. Notably, they hit the post of the Vietnam U19 goal in the 5th minute of the match.
Overall, the Vietnam U19 players controlled the ball and organized attacks more than their opponents in the first half. However, their final combinations lacked the necessary sharpness to create clear scoring opportunities. The highlight of the first half for Vietnam U19 was Long Vũ's unexpected shot from outside the penalty area in the 32nd minute; the ball went beyond the reach of the Avenir U21 goalkeeper but hit the junction of the crossbar and the post.
In the second half, coach Hua Hien Vinh continued to adjust the personnel according to the developments on the field, with eight players being brought onto the field, including Vietnamese-American midfielder Ho Huu Hung. The team also adjusted their tactics, playing with a low defensive line to hone their defensive skills and test the players' flexibility in transitioning from defense to attack.
Meanwhile, U21 Avenir continued to capitalize on their physical strength and power to besiege the U19 Vietnam goal. However, it was only thanks to a direct free kick outside the penalty area in the 62nd minute that they were able to score the opening goal, making it 1-0. This was also the final score of the match, because in the remaining time, despite their efforts to push forward to find an equalizer, U19 Vietnam failed to capitalize on the opportunities created.
In an interview after the training match, coach Hua Hien Vinh said: "This training camp has brought together the best players from the 2005-2007 age group for the Vietnam U19 team."
Over the past week, we've been trying to build cohesion within the team, guiding the players into the style of play that the coaching staff is aiming for. In today's training match, the newly joined players haven't yet reached their best form and playing condition, so they haven't fully met the coaching staff's requirements for implementing the playing style. However, I believe that in a few days, the whole team will be able to play more smoothly.”
In the match against U21 Avenir, coach Hua Hien Vinh also gave the opportunity to bring on Vietnamese-born newcomer Ho Huu Hung in the second half. This player only joined the Vietnam U19 team on July 6th after a long flight from the Czech Republic, so he didn't have enough time to integrate well with his teammates.
Regarding Ho Huu Hung's initial performance, coach Hua Hien Vinh said: "Ho Huu Hung has relatively good basic technique and can play on both wings. However, Hung has only recently returned to the country and has only had 3 training sessions, so he needs more time to adapt. Hung's advantage is that he knows Vietnamese and can understand the communication from his teammates and coaching staff."
According to the plan, tomorrow (July 11th), the Vietnam U19 team will travel to Ho Chi Minh City to continue training before flying to Indonesia on the morning of July 16th. Before traveling to Ho Chi Minh City, coach Hua Hien Vinh will narrow down the list to 26 players.
“The coaching staff will evaluate players based on their performance in domestic leagues, confidence on the field, and strong fighting spirit and determination. Young players with poor morale will find it very difficult to improve their skills,” coach Hua Hien Vinh shared about the criteria for selecting players for the official squad participating in the 2024 Southeast Asian U19 Championship of the Vietnam U19 team.