U23 Vietnam-U23 Brunei: Dreaming of winning gold

(Baonghean.vn) - After many missed appointments with the gold medal in men's football at the SEA Games, tomorrow (May 29), U23 Vietnam will set out with the expectation of "a smooth start and a smooth end" to accumulate points to win a ticket to the semi-finals, dreaming of changing the color of the medal.

At 3pm tomorrow, at the Bishan Stadium of the Lion Island, U23 Vietnam will enter the first match against U23 Brunei in the qualifying round of Group B of the 28th SEA Games football event. This is considered the most important tournament of the year for Vietnamese football, because all hopes and preparations are focused on this "front". Many times, we have come very close to receiving the gold medal in men's football at the SEA Games, but all those times our young men have missed their foot in regret. At this year's SEA Games, we continue to hope that U23 Vietnam will make history for the first time - winning a gold medal that Vietnamese sports have not had in their collection in the Southeast Asian arena. Although it is only counted as 1 gold medal in the SEA Games' overall achievements, this is a gold medal that any sports delegation desires and if they do not win it, the SEA Games will be considered incomplete.

U23 Vietnam players practice before departure Photo: VNA

To reach the final match, first of all, Coach Miura and his students must solve the difficult problems in Group B. In terms of strength, among the teams in Group B, U23 Thailand will almost certainly win a ticket to the semi-finals. The remaining ticket will be the battle between U23 Vietnam and U23 Malaysia. However, U23 Laos, U23 Brunei and U23 Timor Leste will be unknown factors when they enter the match with a relaxed mentality, without pressure. The advantage for U23 Vietnam is that we will meet U23 Brunei (May 29), U23 Malaysia (June 2), U23 East Timor (June 7), U23 Thailand (June 10), so we can proactively calculate tactics and reserve troops for each decisive battle.

In the opening match against Brunei, this is considered a very easy opponent for U23 Vietnam because this team has never reached the semi-finals of this tournament. In the history of SEA Games since the men's football for the U23 age group, Vietnam has competed with Brunei 3 times, all in the group stage with the following specific results: Vietnam - Brunei 5-1 (SEA Games 21), Vietnam - Brunei 8-0 (SEA Games 26), Vietnam - Brunei 7-0 (SEA Games 27). Thus, in the 3 confrontations, U23 Vietnam has beaten U23 Brunei 20 goals and only conceded 1 goal. What is special is that the two players who scored against Brunei at SEA Games 27, Mac Hong Quan and Tran Phi Son, will have the opportunity to compete again with U23 Brunei in the match tomorrow afternoon.

After being the underdogs at the SEA Games, this time U23 Brunei will likely create a surprise when they have the striker from U18 Chelsea in their squad. As the youngest player in the U23 Brunei squad but trained in the world's leading football, Faiq is the hope of Brunei football, he also aims to score many goals for the home team at the 28th SEA Games.

Nghe An players: Cong Phuong, Manh Hung, Ngoc Hai will have the opportunity to show their talent against U23 Brunei - a team considered weaker than Saudi Arabia.Mr. Duc Dung

Meanwhile, the U23 Vietnam team participating in this year's SEA Games has been instilled with a very fiery fighting spirit by coach Miura. It is likely that the Japanese coach will use a 4-4-2 tactical formation for U23 Vietnam. In that tactical formation, there will be Nghe An natives playing in key positions such as Cong Phuong, Phi Son (striker), Manh Hung, Ngoc Hai (defender)... Besides cheering for the U23 Vietnam team, Nghe An fans are also proud, attentively following every step of Nghe An players to cheer in the common joy.

Only facing an opponent below their level, we believe that Coach Miura and his team will win resoundingly in the first match to boost their morale for the next matches. The problem in this match is how we can win all 3 points, score many goals to compete for points later and avoid injuries and penalty cards to keep our dream of winning gold at the 28th SEA Games alive!

Duc Dung