U23 Vietnam attends 2022 AFC U23 Championship: 'Test drug' in the 'post-Park Hang-seo' era
(Baonghean.vn) - In early June, the ball of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship will officially roll on the stadiums in Uzbekistan. This is the first tournament of Vietnam U23 under new coach Gong Oh-kyun, former assistant of Korea U20.
The draw of luck has put U23 Vietnam in a group considered to be relatively "easy", with the presence of the defending champion - U23 Korea, U23 Thailand and U23 Malaysia. However, to win 1 of the 2 tickets of group C to play in the knockout round is not an easy task for coach Gong Oh-kyun and his team.
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| Coach Gong Oh-kyun and his team are actively training for the 2022 AFC U23 Championship. Photo: VFF |
Objectively speaking, in addition to the superiority of U23 Korea, the remaining 3 teams, U23 Vietnam, U23 Thailand and U23 Malaysia, have equal strength. What just happened in the men's football event of the 31st SEA Games has partly reflected the strength of the 3 teams from the Southeast Asian region.
U23 Malaysia only brought to Vietnam a squad with no players over 23 years old. However, coach Brad Maloney's team surprised and impressed the regional football fans when it reached the top 4. Remember, U23 Malaysia participated in the SEA Games only to prepare for the 2022 AFC U23 Championship.
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U23 Malaysia is a formidable opponent for coach Gong Oh-kyun and his team. Photo courtesy of Hoang Tung. |
Similar to U23 Malaysia, U23 Thailand also just had a quite successful SEA Games, although coach Alexandre Polking and his team only won the runner-up position. It is worth mentioning that in the composition of U23 Thailand participating in the men's football SEA Games 31, there are still many outstanding faces missing, typically the "prodigy" Suphanat Mueanta.
According to Thai media, the SEA Games 31 men's football runner-up team will be supplemented with a series of talented young players playing in the country and foreign players playing in Europe. Obviously, U23 Thailand is determined to "recover the debt owed" to U23 Malaysia and U23 Vietnam at SEA Games 31.
While the opponents are showing progress, at least in theory, U23 Vietnam is experiencing major turmoil. Not only has there been a change in the coaching staff with the takeover of new coach Gong Oh-kyun, but the current U23 Vietnam squad is also not highly regarded by domestic experts, especially in terms of battle experience.
Let's wait and see where U23 Vietnam will go at the 2022 AFC U23 Championship under coach Gong Oh-kyun?
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