Coach Park is worried about the difference in skill level between the main and reserve teams in U23 Vietnam.

Coach Park Hang-seo frankly said that U23 Vietnam currently has a large gap in skill level between the strongest squad and the reserve players.

After winning the Bronze medal at the 2017 M-150 Cup, the Vietnam U23 team returned to Hanoi to continue training in preparation for the 2018 AFC U23 Championship. Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will have two more friendly matches when they host Ulsan Huyndai (South Korea) on the evening of December 21 at Hang Day Stadium and face U23 Palestine in China on January 4 before competing with the U23 teams in Group D, namely South Korea, Australia and Syria.

Sharing with Bongdaplus about professional issues that need to be improved in U23 Vietnam, coach Park Hang-seo frankly shared:

"At the M-150 Cup, what we achieved was defeating Thailand to win the Bronze medal. But besides that, there were also issues that I think the team did not complete well. That is, some players were exhausted or injured. Some others, I have not been able to test them (6/27 players did not play in Thailand - PV). That is what I feel unsatisfied with."

Coach Park had to say goodbye to his students due to injuries - Photo: Duc Cuong

At the M-150 Cup, Coach Park used a 3-defender formation throughout all 3 matches against the U23 teams of Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Thailand. But when he returned to Hanoi, according to captain Luong Xuan Truong, he switched back to a 4-defender formation.

Sharing about using a 3-man or 4-man defense, the Korean coach openly said: "We used a trio of defenders in the M-150 Cup. But in reality, operating this defense system is also very simple.

Because if the defensive midfielder in the central area drops back to support, their role will be no different from 4 defenders. And all Vietnamese players are familiar with playing with 4 defenders, so we have no difficulty. Therefore, not only in the 3 matches of the M-150 Cup, but we will continue to experiment and use the 3-defender formation in the coming time."

He is worried about the gap between the optimal lineup and the reserve players - Photo: Duc Cuong

On the first day of training back in Hanoi, coach Park called up goalkeeper Phi Minh Long and also summoned central defender Thanh Chung of Hanoi FC but then also had to say goodbye to Phan Van Long.

Regarding the addition of personnel, Coach Park Hang-seo explained: "There is currently a youth tournament taking place in Can Tho (2017 International U21). Therefore, it is not easy to call more players to the Vietnam U23 team. We will not call many faces during this period. Anyway, when going to China to compete in the U23 Asian Cup, the team will only bring about 23 players out of the current total of 29 people."

After nearly a month of training and a friendly tournament of a testing and experimental nature, coach Park Hang-seo is also having a headache over some problems with U23 Vietnam.

He shared with Bongdaplus: "Currently, in the U23 Vietnam squad, there are some injured players. This is the team's problem. In addition, I think there is a gap in the level and performance of the strongest squad and the reserve players, even though the form of the optimal squad is not the best.

From now until the AFC U23 Championship, I will have to help the strongest squad increase its strength. The reserve players themselves must also improve. But it will not be easy and we do not have much time left.”

According to Bongdaplus