U23 Vietnam and necessary experiments

Among them, Long Vu is only 17 years old, Hoang Duong and Huu Tuan are 18 years old, only keeping 3 old main players before: Van Chuan, Nguyen Hoang and Minh Khoa.

Essentially, this match is still an important test for young players, paving the way for more difficult knockout matches ahead.

While the goalkeeper position still belongs to Captain Van Chuan, the trio of central defenders, in addition to the "old man" Nguyen Hoang, has two more compatriots from Nghe - Tinh, Nam Hai and Ngoc Thang. The player from Hong Linh Ha Tinh used to play as a left-sided central defender at SEA Games 32, so it was not difficult to get into the game, while Nam Hai used to enter the field in the second half of the match against U23 Laos as a midfielder, now being arranged to play as a right-sided central defender like the way he used to play at Song Lam Nghe An, is clearly a necessary test for U23 Vietnam in the long run. And when Duy Cuong entered the field to replace Nam Hai, it was certainly not because the young player from Nghe An was out of breath or did not play well, but the main thing was to let this pillar warm up, avoid interruptions due to broken playing periods, creating seamless excitement for the next stage.

In midfield, the presence of Minh Khoa and Duc Viet from the beginning clearly "freed" Xuan Tien so that this midfielder had the opportunity to join the attack. The bright, breakthrough pass at the beginning of the first half was really the "key" to opening the opportunity for the young striker pair Hoang Duong to create and Huu Tuan to score. People may feel sorry for Xuan Tien when he then continuously missed the opportunities created by his teammates, but remember that this Song Lam Nghe An player is in the process of being tested, finding the best position to promote his existing ability. At the end of the match, Xuan Tien retreated deep in the role of a card-dealing midfielder, regulating the tempo of the match without being required to play high, penetrating the penalty area as before. To see, due to the nature of this match (only needing a draw or better for U23 Vietnam to top Group C), Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan tested and calculated very carefully related to many positions and many players. And clearly, the coach has achieved many of the results he needed, including successful positions as well as positions that made him want to… forget right after the match, as he said in the press conference.

After the match, the coach from Khanh Hoa expressed his dissatisfaction with Van Truong, when this "favorite" was hot-tempered, had unnecessary collisions with opponents and was given a yellow card, even a red card if the referee was heavy-handed. In the previous match against U23 Laos, he was a starter but Van Truong played quite chaotically, did not make any significant impression, so he was replaced after the first half. In this match, the situation was clearly different, more favorable, but the midfielder of Hanoi FC still played incoherently, and missed his aim when there were favorable opportunities. The ideological problem of this player has clearly not been resolved and is in dire need of an effective "remedy" from the coaching staff and teammates.

The coach still has a good opinion of Van Chuan and young player Long Vu. Everyone has seen that Van Chuan was not good at defending high balls more than once and what happened in the match against U23 Laos has not been fixed yet. If the opponent is sharper, it will be difficult for the U23 Vietnam goal to be intact, if the goalkeeper is still indecisive and lacking in power like that. Meanwhile, it is clear that 17-year-old player Long Vu is playing in the starting lineup for the first time inU23 VietnamBut full of confidence, full of desire is a plus point in the eyes of the coaching staff and fans. But there have been many missed opportunities because Long Vu has not been able to "overcome" the seniors playing defense on the opponent's side. Therefore, let's see this as a good opportunity to mature, a hope for the next steps of a young factor with great potential in Vietnamese football.

The outstanding players in the match against U23 Laos such as Minh Quang, Van Khang, Duy Cuong... as mentioned above, were put on the field by Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan, mainly to protect the 1-0 score rather than to try to increase the score. However, this group of players also left their mark with their coordination, possession and clear and precise ball deployment. Because basically, the goal of U23 Vietnam in the group stage was excellently completed with the top position, there were some mistakes, unnecessary penalty cards, but everything was still under control. Now is the time to focus on the do-or-die semi-final match with U23 Malaysia, a match that is not easy to predict because the opponent is full of desire, full of fate is waiting...

And certainly through the 2 group matches, Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan, with the recent successful and unsuccessful experiments, will find the most satisfactory lineup, the most reliable and surprising tactical cards to be ready to fight any opponent. Because with the upcoming knockout format, U23 Vietnam as well as the opponents will not have the opportunity to explore, experiment, no chance to correct mistakes, redo, cannot hide the whole plan or calculate any other short-term or long-term./.