U23 Vietnam: Many challenges ahead

U23 Vietnam is in Group I with Chinese Taipei and Myanmar, competing in Kyrgyzstan from October 27 to November 2, 2021.

People still compare the current U23 with the U23 that won the runner-up position in Changzhou. Photo: Nguoi lao dong

In theory, the two opponents in Group I are not “too much” for U23 Vietnam. But with what has just been achieved during the training, internal competitions and recent friendly matches abroad, there are still concerns for Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team, especially when, whether they want it or not, people still compare the current U23 with the U23 that won the runner-up position in Changzhou in 2018?

Because he was assigned to "take charge" of both the Vietnam National Team and the Vietnam U23 Team at the same time, Mr. Park Hang-seo could not fully manage the work of both teams. Moreover, the fact that the Vietnam National Team entered the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia for the first time has raised many hopes, along with a lot of effort and effort poured into the Vietnam National Team, causing the U23 Team to suffer, especially the lack of sufficient guidance and training from "wizard" Park before the official competition.

Although U23 Vietnam has received much attention, and is more favorable than its seniors in being arranged to play friendly matches with foreign U23 teams, it is clear that the team's playing style has not yet been clearly defined, and the expected players have suddenly become visibly "dull" such as Hai Long, Huu Thang, Hoang Anh... In general, people now only see this as an even team, without outstanding stars, still far from catching up with the previous U23 seniors in terms of individual skills as well as cohesive and varied collective playing style.

Public opinion and experts do not show any fear of the teams in Group I, but still do not forget to mention the "golden" days of the U19 and U22 teams of Cong Phuong and Xuan Truong, who were unexpectedly defeated by opponents of the same age group, Myanmar, a few years ago.

With different news about whether U23 Myanmar gave up or not, but in the end they still made it, with the history lesson not too far away, surely U23 Myanmar is a difficult "unknown factor" of U23 Vietnam, it is not easy for Mr. Park and his team to bypass and smoothly enter the final round? Currently, U23 Vietnam is a collection of outstanding young factors from different training centers, where they are strong in physique, physical strength, where they have diverse technical and tactical advantages, so it is not easy for opponents to just use rough play, causing frustration to succeed like Vietnamese youth football once encountered.

Obviously, in the context of Covid-19 prevention, all teams are facing the same difficulties, it is impossible to say who has a better chance. Although the V. League 2020 was organized, it had to end early without awarding any collective or individual titles. That means the players did not practice and compete regularly, did not face overload but also lacked the necessary experience and capacity improvement. Therefore, it is difficult to properly assess the necessary capacity and explain why they played well last season but now seem to have not reached their inherent level?

Although Mr. Park Hang-seo has not finalized the list, the number of 3 people not on the final list is not much and not difficult to guess. When observing friendly matches with many different experiments, Mr. Park certainly clearly sees the weaknesses and shortcomings of the players. But there is not much time and material left, there is no room for experimentation and innovation, so the playing style of U23 Vietnam is not defined, it will be "difficult for others, difficult for us"!

Therefore, the requirement for a disciplined, cohesive, and small-minded team will be set first and maintained against all opponents. Based on a solid defense with a squad of young players who were "trained" at the Vietnam National Team including Van Toan, Thanh Binh, Viet Anh... U23 Vietnam will play their forte of defense-counterattack, with the bridge Hai Long-Van Cong-Hoang Anh and finish quickly from the handling of Van Dat or Xuan Tu? It could also be coordination from the wings, ending with a very skillful pass from Sy Hoang as the young SLNA star showed in the first friendly match and many other tricks are still being nurtured...

Hopefully, a new star of U23 Vietnam will rise in the sky of the continent, following in the footsteps of the seniors who made a miraculous victory on the white snow of Changzhou, opening the way for Vietnamese football to rise brightly and escape the lowlands. Hopefully, the next generation of the Vietnam National Team will not be surprised, will not have to "go home early", but will "stride on roses" - the path of Vietnamese football is going in the right direction, fundamentally, with a solid foundation...