U21 SLNA: Regaining honor in the final round?

It is understandable that, falling into the “death group” with many talented teams such as U21 Viettel (reigning champion), U21 Binh Duong, U21 NutiFood Academy…, coach Ngo Quang Truong and his team could not easily achieve the desired results. However, the fact that U21 SLNA only achieved minimal results against weak teams such as U21 Ben Tre (1-0), U21 Quang Nam (3-2) shows that the young team from Nghe An still has a lot of work to do compared to their potential and existing strength.

The resilience, will and spirit of steel in the narrow victory over U21 Binh Duong (2-1) saved a difficult group stage ofU21 SLNAafter the runner-up team lost convincingly to the defending champion Viettel (0-2) when they met again due to being in the same group. The calculations in the final match with NutiFood Academy (1-1) also left questions and lessons when the team did not rise up to take control of their own destiny (beat NutiFood Academy), but instead depended on the results in other groups. Fortunately, the other teams all played cleanly and beautifully (there was absolutely no passing back and forth, up and down in the last 10 minutes like in the very forgettable and... shameful match between U21 SLNA and U21 NutiFood Academy) so that in the end SLNA still had a name in the finals.

SLNA U21 coaching staff and players participating in the 2021 National U21. Photo: PV

Through the group stage, U21 SLNA scored 7 goals and conceded 6 goals, which is enough to show that both the attacking and defensive abilities have problems that need to be fixed. First of all, the defense made many serious mistakes that directly led to early goals conceded by U21 SLNA, such as Van Cuong's mistake in the match against U21 Binh Duong (the opposing team scored a free kick), Thanh Lam's mistake leading to a penalty in the match against U21 NutiFood Academy... The two goals conceded (or even 4 goals?) in the match against the reigning champion U21 Viettel were also mainly due to the mistakes of the defense, concentrated in the right-back position guarded by Vuong Van Huy and of course, the responsibility of the midfield cannot be ignored when not ensuring good defense from a distance...

Obviously, expected names like Van Viet, Sy Hoang, Ba Sang, Thanh Lam... did not play at their best, causing the coaching staff to have to shuffle the lineup and the team therefore lacked a clear, consistent plan.

The joy of U21 SLNA after winning against U21 Binh Duong. Photo: PV

In the opening matches, coach Quang Truong let Van Viet play highest, perhaps to put pressure on the opposing team's defense, but it was unsuccessful. Then, when facing a strong opponent, the midfield led by young player Xuan Tien was sometimes broken, forcing Van Viet to be pulled back but still could not resolve the situation. A team with many positions that can play a good role in midfield but lacking a true striker playing highest, a necessary target striker, so U21 SLNA attacked a lot but with low efficiency. Manh Quynh played wide, skillfully, but was mostly pushed too far from the opponent's goal so he could not create real pressure on the opponent's defense...

Seeing the limitations through the group stage, U21 SLNA added 3 players who are playing for the first team: Khac Luong (center back), Xuan Binh (center midfielder) and Tien Cuong (midfielder). Hopefully, Khac Luong will join Thanh Lam and Ba Sang to create a real stopper in the center of the defense when assigned the task. The right-back position of U21 SLNA is still a big question mark that forces the coaching staff to "solve" early and effectively. In the midfield, Xuan Binh with his ability to block, Xuan Tien with his ability to coordinate and participate in attacks, along with the energetic Van Viet on the right wing, Manh Quynh on the left wing will form a "magical quartet", both ensuring defensive support and being the trigger for all directions of attack. Of course, the problem of U21 SLNA's center forward must also be taken into account, or the team can play with a virtual number 9 when assigned to Quoc Thanh or Van Luong...

Nguyen Van Bach of U21 SLNA left many impressions in the match with U21 Binh Duong. Photo: Nguyet Ha

This year's U21 Finals are expected to be a high-quality tournament, gathering many young stars who have long been "eating the national team's rice" such as U22, U23 or U19. Looking at their strength, U21 Viettel or U21 Hanoi are dominating, but we cannot ignore the players who are and will play in the V. League of U21 Nam Dinh, U21 Thanh Hoa... Therefore, even the modest task of defending the runner-up position of U21 SLNA cannot be said to be easy to achieve? But SLNA's football, which is always surprising and has long been known to never "lose to its younger brothers or sisters", is something that makes many opponents wary and... resentful, so hopefully there will be matches worth watching and praising by Ba Sang and his teammates, perhaps even a spectacular "overthrow"?