Who will the Vietnam U23 team discover to help them reach new heights?

This coach from Khanh Hoa province has declared his views on the playing style of the Vietnam U23 team, and certainly the results achieved/not achieved by Duy Cuong and his teammates in the future, as well as the coaching lessons from a local coach, will be of great help in the process of finding and perfecting the playing style of Vietnamese football in the goal of reaching the level we are aiming for.

All the achievements and shortcomings of Vietnamese football under coach Park Hang-seo allow and require the "new era" under Philip Troussier to seek and improve a new playing style based on human resources and methods of building a team from youth football, from potential talents and also from key players who can still serve the Vietnamese national team. Unlike the previous successful period from 2018-2022, since being appointed coach, Troussier immediately called up many young players to scout, select, and build the team, accepting the inevitable temporary failures such as in the recent SEA Games.

At the 32nd SEA Games, Coach Troussier introduced a series of promising new talents such as Thai Son, Minh Trong, Ngoc Thang… alongside established players like Duy Cuong, Tuan Tai, Van Tung, Van Khang, Van Truong… At the 2023 U23 Southeast Asian Championship, although the selection process is still underway, the inclusion of new talents like Nam Hai, Van Ha, Huu Tuan, and even younger players like Long Vu, Nguyen Hoang… demonstrates a long-term vision for diligently building a strong team, aiming for fierce competition and diverse resources for the national teams.

While building a new playing style and achieving results after the SEA Games 32, which received mixed opinions, the concrete results of the Vietnam U23 team in the Southeast Asian U23 Championship, along with their ability to overcome the pressure of real-world matches against regional opponents, will allow Coach Troussier to either continue on his chosen path or modify and change his approach to the playing style to suit the circumstances, before considering the long-term future.

In reality, everyone understands that against regional rivals, it's inevitable and achievable for Vietnamese teams to shift from a defensive-counterattacking style to a ball-control-attacking one. However, the problem is that against top continental opponents with superior physique and fitness, and advanced, well-developed playing styles, we have encountered countless difficulties and challenges, consistently failing to implement our usual playing methods and strategies.

Remember the U20 Vietnam team under coach Hoang Anh Tuan and players like Nguyen Hoang and Long Vu… who recently competed at the continental level? That shows how much we struggled and collapsed against an opponent with superior physique and stamina like Uzbekistan. A physically strong center-back like Thanh Binh might have scored a header against Japan in the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, but how many Vietnamese players have ever done that? Even Thanh Binh himself has struggled to find a second goal since then.

The Vietnamese women's national team, which recently participated in the 2023 Women's World Cup, was once praised for its excellent physical fitness, allowing them to compete on equal footing with the US team. Player Duong Thi Van was considered the "Kante of Vietnam" due to her superior physical condition. However, the reality of competing on the world stage revealed numerous shortcomings in terms of physical attributes, fitness, and training methods compared to our opponents. Even the best mental fortitude couldn't compensate for these shortcomings… Therefore, we cannot be complacent with the current situation, nor can we remain passive when we know exactly where our defeats are coming from, yet have not taken any immediate corrective measures in our matches.

Ultimately, any playing style or operational method must be based on specific individuals and specific talents. The Thais often beat us thanks to their skillful play revolving around the talents of Chanathip or, more recently, Theerathon. The U23 Vietnam team's success in Changzhou was due to a talented group centered around Quang Hai, and since then we have always struggled when we lack a truly talented leader to guide the team.

Now, with the Vietnam U23 team divided into two squads under two different coaches, finding and defining a playing style is no easy task, even though the coaches always insist on having everything planned from the start. The current Vietnam U23 team includes Van Khang, who was once considered a great potential player (having played for three national teams simultaneously: U20, U23, and the senior Vietnam national team since the time of coach Park Hang-seo) and is expected to inspire his teammates in the upcoming tournament, even though the captain's armband has been given to center-back Duy Cuong.

Many are hoping that this tournament will showcase new, reliable players to coach Troussier, such as Van Ha and Nguyen Hoang in defense, or Huu Tuan and Long Vu in attack, and other promising talents. This will provide a solid foundation for building and implementing the attacking-ball control style we desire, a convincing basis for a breakthrough and advancement in the near future.