From 3-4-3 to 3-5-2, coach Park has optimized the strength of U22 Vietnam at SEA Games 30

Since leading Vietnamese football, Coach Park Hang-seo has quickly realized the weakness of Vietnamese defenders when playing with a 4-defender formation. And right from the first matches, the Korean coach built a 5-defender formation when defending and a 3-4-3 formation when attacking.

The above diagram has brought success to Vietnamese football for over 2 years. However, when opponents are no longer unfamiliar with this tactical diagram, coach Park Hang-seo is forced to change.

In theory, the 3-5-2 formation does not have many changes compared to the 3-4-3, but the diversity of the 2-striker formation helps the attack of U22 Vietnam become stronger. When defending, U22 Vietnam still has 5 people, 3 midfielders and 2 strikers.

Starting lineup when U22 Vietnam met Indonesia in the group stage. Photo: VFF

In the first matches of SEA Games 30 against Brunei and Laos, Coach Park Hang-seo still arranged the team in a 3-4-3 formation, started to test the new formation and alternately put Ha Duc Chinh to play with Nguyen Tien Linh and vice versa. Until the match against Thailand, Coach Park Hang-seo made this decision very early when the match had not passed 20 minutes.

In the match against Indonesia, coach Park Hang-seo withdrew a full-back like Ho Tan Tai to make room for Ha Duc Chinh and at that time, Trong Hoang was returned to the right-back position, opposite Doan Van Hau.

When Trong Hoang was returned to the right-back position, he not only performed well in the defensive role but also became more dangerous with his border climbing and advancing situations. At the same time, the Vietnamese team switched to 3-5-2, 4-4-2 and 5-4-1 when needed to defend.

Tien Linh is still the highest player in the U22 Vietnam team. Photo: Hai Hoang

In fact, the difference between 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 is not much, since Duc Chinh or Tien Linh are replaced respectively, U22 Vietnam will often play with 2 strikers up front. With 3-4-3, only the striker stays in the same position. That is why Anh Duc, Tien Linh or Duc Chinh often do not play together in a match.

Of course, to improve the attack, ball control is an important factor. Compared to the previous 2 central midfielders such as Hung Dung - Tuan Anh or Huy Hung, Duc Huy, Xuan Truong, playing with 3 central midfielders has clearly brought about clear results. And then, U22 Vietnam had to accept less counter-attack opportunities.

This was clearly shown when Singapore and Indonesia caused a lot of difficulties for Coach Park Hang-seo and his team. After all, U22 Vietnam is used to playing with a low, tight defense and only has 2 matches against Brunei and Laos to test the new formation.

The starting lineup of U22 Vietnam in the final match against U22 Indonesia. Photo: VFF

It was not until the final match against U22 Indonesia that Coach Park Hang-seo no longer deployed a 3-4-3 formation at the start. Instead, the Korean coach let Trong Hoang play as a defender from the start and Tan Tai play on the opposite wing, Van Hau as a center back, the 2 attacking midfielders of U22 Vietnam were Hoang Duc - Hung Dung.

The most obvious difference is that U22 Vietnam has a real defensive midfielder, Duc Chien. Coach Park emphasized caution when there were 6 defenders on the field but still had 2 strikers, Duc Chinh and Tien Linh.

At first glance, U22 Vietnam starts with a 3-5-2 formation, but when Tan Tai and Trong Hoang retreat to defend, or one of these two players moves up, the formation will change a lot. The remaining positions must move simultaneously to fill the gaps, ensuring there are at least 4 players defending in front of the goal.

Trong Hoang is more dangerous when playing as a defender. Photo: Hai Hoang

When there are 2 strikers on the field, Tien Linh will still play the highest but Duc Chinh will take on the responsibility of attracting the opponent's defense, harassing and even creating. This is probably the most memorable SEA Games for this striker with 8 goals, while Tien Linh has 6 goals.

To play 3-5-2, coach Park Hang-seo, in addition to the wingers Van Hau - Trong Hoang or Thanh Thinh - Trong Hoang, also has players with very good height such as Thanh Chung and Tien Linh to optimize corner kicks and crosses and headers.

Although there were some difficulties in constantly changing the formation, overall, the players had a new experience and a successful SEA Games. Among them, Hung Dung, Quang Hai, Trong Hoang, Hoang Duc, Van Hau, Thanh Thinh and Duc Chien were the ones who often had to change their positions.

The versatility of the two overage players Trong Hoang and Hung Dung is the key to the success of U22 Vietnam in this tournament. Coach Park Hang-seo was completely wise in bringing the duo from the national team to the Philippines and they also had their own goals.

Coach Park Hang-seo clearly understands the strengths and weaknesses of Vietnamese players. Photo: Hai Hoang

Statistics show that at SEA Games 30, U22 Vietnam scored 24 goals after 7 matches, of which 9 were scored by headers. An extremely effective strategy when the opponent is defensively concentrated, especially in matches against Singapore, Indonesia or Thailand.

As Coach Park Hang-seo once said, he was worried that the 2 striker formation was strong enough to conquer Southeast Asia, but it would be difficult to play well against strong teams. However, to maintain victory and success, Coach Park had to change.

It will not be surprising if at the AFC U23 Championship and the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Vietnamese teams continue to play with a formation of 5 defenders and 2 strikers. The progress of Duc Chinh - Tien Linh is very clear and when Phan Van Duc and Tran Dinh Trong return, Coach Park Hang-seo will have more options to improve the attacking ability.

U22 Vietnam convincingly won the 30th SEA Games

(Baonghean.vn) - Playing with the mentality of the upper hand, U22 Vietnam has demonstrated the mettle of the team that won the runner-up position in the AFC U23 Championship and is the current champion of the 2018 AFF Cup.