U23 Vietnam moves towards 'comprehensive attack and defense'

However, in the 5th meeting, U23 Vietnam drew 1-1 with U23 Korea, even had a chance to take the lead at the end of the match when they had one more player in the recent Group C match of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship. What made the "miracle" of U23 Vietnam from the new Korean coach - Mr. Gong Oh-kyun, after the recent series of resounding successes under the "reign" of Park Hang-seo?

As many people know, Mr. Gong Oh-kyun advocated that U23 Vietnam will always enter the match with an attacking mindset, even against the defending champion U23 Korea with a powerful force, "there is no plan to draw" but to "fight and win" which is completely different from before, even for the most dreamy people.

The reality of the match showed that even if they wanted to attack, U23 Vietnam must first organize a good defense, not conceding a goal, to have any hope of doing anything against an opponent with superior class, physique, and physical strength. U23 Korea held the ball for more than 70% of the time, launched 11 shots but only 2 were on target and scored only one goal. That showed that U23 Vietnam organized the best defense possible, limiting all of the opponent's attacking directions to the maximum extent.

Vu Tien Long scored to help U23 Vietnam hold U23 Korea to a draw. Photo courtesy of Ngoc Duy

Experts point out that, besides the determination and fearlessness of the coaching staff and each player, the professional capacity and ability to connect the entire system ofU23 Vietnamis what makes that happy result.

After the match against U23 Thailand, the attacking ability and actual efficiency of U23 Vietnam were recognized, but the draw after 2 leads showed that the team's defense system had serious problems, causing the team to lose the necessary balance, and the attack and defense were very harmful.

But with what happened in the match against U23 Korea, the ability to defend in depth, tightly and flexibly of U23 Vietnam has been confirmed. The connection and communication of each line and the whole system, the distance between lines when defending and when changing state is always guaranteed. Except for one case of pushing up and being counterattacked dangerously (thanks to Viet Anh catching up to block the final shot), in general, U23 Vietnam has passed an extremely valuable "test" against a high-class opponent thanks to the best possible defense system. That is also what Mr. Gong Oh-kyun gradually relieved the anxiety about the defense task when the team switched to operating the main attacking style. It is not at all the idea of ​​"using attack to compensate for defense" but the flexibility between the viewpoint of attack as a way of defense and defense as a launching pad for attack.

Against a high-class opponent like U23 Korea, the fact that U23 Vietnam only had 4 shots on goal in the entire match, in which strangely defender Tien Long "came up from the ground" twice to receive and shoot, with 1 "super product" was a success that far exceeded the expectations of many people, is the difference, unique to coach Gong in directing tactics and arranging human resources.

The ball dispute between players of the U23 Vietnam and U23 Korea teams. Photo: VNA

Praising and appreciating U23 Vietnam in this match, we also do not forget that U23 Korea played this match with 5 changes compared to the previous 4-1 victory over U23 Malaysia, in which, "brain" Lee Chang-in was given a rest due to a slight injury according to the famous head coach Hwang Sun-hong. And U23 Vietnam scored the equalizer against a superior opponent thanks to their calmness and confidence to counterattack when there was an opportunity, causing the opponent to commit fouls leading to penalty cards, losing people at the end of the match...

Two consecutive draws in the group stage of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship still show the progress and maturity of U23 Vietnam, opening up the opportunity for the team to enter the quarterfinals for the second time if they get good results against U23 Malaysia, who were eliminated after 2 losses and other favorable related data in the group.

A truly young team with 2 players only 18 years old, only 2 "seniors" over 21 years old, but have confidently competed against experienced opponents in the continent and the world is truly "rare, hard to find", full of hope in the new races. And most importantly, Vietnamese football is gradually achieving initial results in the process of rebuilding, renewing with a new tactical system, new philosophy, determined not to let opponents "figure out" and stop with a young source full of energy, of which U23 under Mr. Gong Oh-kyun is a reliable and desirable proof.,.