U23 Indonesia lost the opening match: Lesson for U23 Vietnam?
(Baonghean.vn) - Despite playing quite well against host U23 Qatar, U23 Indonesia had to accept a 2-0 defeat due to tricks and unnecessary mistakes. This is also an obvious lesson for U23 Vietnam in this final round.
It can be said that U23 Indonesia played very well in the first half of the opening match. Coach Shin Tae-yong's team played solidly in defense and occasionally had dangerous attacks that threatened the home team's goal. Notably, striker Rafael Struick hit the post in the 39th minute.
However, a trick by captain Rizky Ridho in the 42nd minute caused the Indonesian team to collapse. This may have been a heavy-handed decision by the referee team, but the Indonesian players had to blame themselves for having unnecessary tricks in the penalty area.
This goal reminded us of the trickery of center-back Nguyen Thanh Binh in the match against Indonesia in the 2023 Asian Cup. The price to pay was the 0-1 loss to Indonesia that led to the early elimination of the Vietnamese team.

This is the result of defenders in the V.League often using tricks to block opposing strikers. Because in the V.League, there are not many matches using VAR technology, so these tricks often go unnoticed by the referees or are tolerated by the referees. This "bad habit" unintentionally puts the Vietnamese teams at a disadvantage in recent Asian tournaments. Therefore, the defenders of the U23 Vietnam team will have to learn from their mistakes to avoid making the same mistake.
Along with tricks are the "extra moves" of the players. Indonesian football is often famous for its harsh and brutal tackles. In the past, Vietnamese players have suffered injuries many times after being tackled by players from the archipelago. And in the last match, they had to pay the price with 2 red cards. These red cards not only made them lose the match but also lost players in the next 2 matches. The absence of key players Ivan Jenner and Ramadhan Sananta will make the door to the next round for coach Shin Tae-yong's team increasingly narrow.
This is also a valuable lesson for the young players of the Vietnam U23 Team. Especially, young players do not have much experience in competition and often have moments of rashness and impetuosity. The consequences will be cards, free kicks or even losing people early.

However, with the strict personality of coach Hoang Anh Tuan, fans believe that our young players will limit "hot heads", thereby avoiding unfortunate situations in this tournament.
The defeat of U23 Indonesia is a pity for Southeast Asian football on the opening day. But this defeat will be a lesson for other Southeast Asian teams, including U23 Vietnam, in this year's final round.
Hopefully, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team will have a lucky start at the 2024 U23 Asian tournament./.