U23 Vietnam will play all out with U23 Indonesia

"I am satisfied with the win over Brunei even though the team is not really perfect. The best thing is that the six goals were divided equally among the six players," coach Park Hang-seo shared after the 6-0 victory in the opening match of Group K of the U23 Asian qualifiers.

Against the weakest opponent in the group, Brunei, Vietnam completely dominated the game, scoring three goals in each half in the match at My Dinh Stadium. The first scorer was Ha Duc Chinh, with a header in the 10th minute. It was his first goal in over a year at the national team level. Quang Hai, a player who has been under scrutiny for his performance since the 2019 Asian Cup, also scored a goal of his own.

After entering the field at the beginning of the second half, he successfully converted a penalty in the second minute of extra time to seal the score. Before that, in the 77th minute, Quang Hai himself brought about the first penalty, creating an opportunity for Tan Sinh to score and forcing the opponent to play with 10 men for the remaining time.

This victory helped Vietnam rise to the top of Group K. Thailand came in second thanks to a 4-0 win over Indonesia. Experts believe that the battle for the top spot in the group will be a one-on-one match between Vietnam and Thailand. The match between the two teams will take place in the final round, on March 26. "I haven't thought about Thailand yet. Right now, I just want to prepare to play all-out against Indonesia in the second match on March 24. After that match, I will prepare for the match with Thailand in the final match," added coach Park Hang-seo.

To grasp the situation of the opponent, the Korean coach sent two assistants Lee Young-jin and Lee Tae-hoon to watch the Thailand - Indonesia match. When the match entered the second half, Mr. Park was also present in the stands. "Thailand and Indonesia have changed a lot compared to the recent U22 Southeast Asian tournament. Indonesia has four personnel changes, this number is 15 for Thailand," coach Park Hang-seo assessed. "Indonesian players have quite good individual skills, passing the ball reasonably into the space. Thailand has shown how well they are prepared, as the host of the 2020 U23 Asian finals. Through the match with Indonesia, it can be seen that Thailand has many good individuals, the collective playing style and general tactics are also very good."

To prepare for the two upcoming matches, Coach Park Hang-seo sent Dinh Trong onto the field in the second half of the match against Brunei even though he had not fully recovered. Mr. Park explained: "When finalizing the list of players for the tournament, I considered many cases of Dinh Trong. I discussed with the coaching staff, doctors and combined with my personal feelings. I believe Dinh Trong can play in this tournament. Dinh Trong could not play the entire opening match, but I sent him onto the field in the second half to regain his ball feeling, preparing for the matches against Indonesia and Thailand."

Tung Dinh Trong entered the field but Mr. Park surprised everyone by not letting Thanh Chung play with him, but pushing the Hanoi FC center back up to play... striker. He said: "This is the most special thing about the team's personnel in the match against Brunei. I saw at the club, Thanh Chung once came on as a substitute and scored. I want to experiment. However, his main task is still in defense. I will not often use Thanh Chung as a striker."

In the match against Brunei, Vietnam used many high balls. However, coach Park Hang-seo said that this is not the main tactic. He will still build a short passing style of play, suitable for Vietnam's small, skillful players.