U23 Vietnam is actively preparing forSEA Games 31, especially the opening match of Group A against U23 Indonesia. Coach Park Hang Seo announced the official registration list of 20 players + 1 backup goalkeeper on the morning of May 4. There are not too many surprises when the main frame of U23 Vietnam has been predicted in advance.

However, U23 Vietnam still needs to solve the following 3 problems before this first match of special importance.

1. Attack plan

Considered the number 1 candidate for the championship, U23 Vietnam will likely encounter a tight defensive style of play from weak opponents. Against teams that actively retreat deep and defend in large numbers, penetrating their defense is not easy.

U23 Vietnam's strikers played ineffectively. Photo: Pisces

Many matches have proven that Coach Park and his team often have difficulty against opponents of this type. At that time, the problem posed to the Korean strategist was to prepare many diverse attack options.

In Group A, U23 Vietnam's opponents are U23 Indonesia, U23 Myanmar, U23 Philippines and U23 Timor Leste. Except for U23 Indonesia, which is considered to cause many difficulties, the remaining teams are weaker than U23 Vietnam. Therefore, to get points, Philippines, Myanmar or Timor Leste will definitely play solid defense.

The presence of Nguyen Hoang Duc or Do Hung Dung is expected to increase creativity in the midfield. At important moments, the team's stars can speak up at the right time to penetrate the opponent's defense.

2. The finishing touch

Tien Linh is expected to shine. Photo courtesy of Song Ngu

Except for the 7-0 victory over Singapore at the U23 Southeast Asia tournament, the U23 Vietnam attack has been relatively ineffective. U23 Vietnam only had 2 narrow wins in the U23 Asia qualifiers, failed to score in the Dubai Cup and did not leave much of an impression in the 2 recent friendly matches with U20 Korea.

We won the SEA Games men's football gold medal for the first time in 2019 after an extremely convincing tournament. Over the past 4 years, Vietnam has continuously made strong impressions from regional to continental levels, from national to youth teams.

Therefore, compared to 2003, U23 Vietnam entered the 31st SEA Games at home with much greater confidence, strength and spirit. However, that does not mean that Park Hang Seo and his team can comfortably or leisurely advance to the championship.

This is a really difficult problem and needs to be solved as soon as possible. It is not simply a lack of attacking strategies, the finishing of the U23 Vietnam strikers also needs to be improved. In the shortlist, Coach Park only named 3 strikers: Nguyen Van Tung, Ho Thanh Minh and Nguyen Tien Linh.

Coach Park’s intention is probably to push Hoang Duc to play higher in some cases, while hoping that other players in midfield can make an impression. Because not every match can the strikers score.

Of course, Tien Linh is the most expected name. He is the number 1 striker of the Vietnam national team in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers with 8 goals. However, Tien Linh is suffering from muscle pain and is at risk of missing the first match against U23 Indonesia.

3. Combining factors

At present, U23 Vietnam is a combination of many groups of players. These are the factors that played well in the U23 Asia qualifiers, won the U23 Southeast Asia championship, and added 3 overage players. In fact, the time the players play together is not much, especially in official matches.

So, how to combine them to form a unified block that understands each other is the problem for coach Park.

Coach Park needs to combine the players into one unit. Photo: VFF

The way U23 Vietnam played in the two friendly matches against U20 Korea has not yet brought peace of mind. Especially in the first match, when Coach Park put all the key players on the bench. This shows that there is a big difference between the starting lineup and the players sitting on the bench.

In case a key player cannot play, Coach Park will have to calculate contingency plans right now. Remember, the competition density at SEA Games 31 is very dense (2 matches/day) leading to very high risks in terms of physical strength as well as injury. Not to mention, the Covid-19 epidemic has not been completely eliminated.

The match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia will take place at 7:00 p.m. on May 6.