U22 Vietnam and the unfortunate 'sand'

It was not too difficult for U22 Vietnam to create an overwhelming game right after the referee's whistle. Tien Linh started the goal party with a face-off and then coolly finished into the net of the Laos team. And it was still Tien Linh who doubled the gap with a similar situation not long after. Entering the second half, Hung Dung scored the third goal for U22 Vietnam before Tien Linh completed his hat-trick to help U22 Vietnam lead to 4 goals.

Looking at the ball possession ratio between the two opponents for most of the match, it is hard to believe that U22 Laos will be able to do anything special against a superior opponent who is playing extremely effective offensive and defensive football.

U22 Vietnam had a devastating victory over U22 Laos. Photo: Giao thong Newspaper

However, the unfortunate thing happened in the 60th minute. U22 Laos was awarded a set-piece kick. Soukaphone made a seemingly harmless cross, but unexpectedly the ball found the head of Kaharn and with a strong jump, this central defender sent the ball into the top corner, beating goalkeeper Van Toan, reducing the score to 1 - 4. The goal that U22 Vietnam received did not affect the players' mentality, we scored 2 more goals thanks to Trong Hoang and Quang Hai and ended with a big win of 6 - 1. However, it should be remembered that Laos is a weak opponent and the fact that the defense showed negligence in such a set-piece situation is worth paying attention to.

Remember, U22 Laos is only stronger than U22 Brunei and far inferior to Indonesia and Thailand. For that reason, unnecessary mistakes like the situation of conceding the only goal just now are flaws that make fans feel incomplete and really worried. The attacking power of Indonesia and Thailand will be much greater and if the U22 Vietnam defenders do not learn valuable lessons, we will most likely have to accept the next unfortunate goals.

Immediately after the match, coach Park Hang-seo himself expressed his frustration when his players did not do a good job of keeping a clean sheet.

“That was a situation where the ball was crossed into the far corner for a Lao player to head in and score. We have prepared carefully for set pieces like that. I will ask the players why they conceded the goal so easily,” said Mr. Park at the press conference.

After 2 matches, U22 Vietnam has scored 12 goals and only conceded 1 goal. In addition, Park Hang-seo's team has also preserved its strength for the long journey ahead. But perhaps the biggest lesson we have learned is the loss against U22 Laos. Park's students need to have the highest concentration, be vigilant and not be subjective in any situation because the next opponents are very difficult to play, unlike Brunei and Laos, the first 2 opponents we faced./.