U23 Vietnam and the memory of missing SLNA players

The success of U23 Vietnam 2 years ago was analyzed a lot by football experts. But one thing that cannot be ignored is that in the hands of the Korean coach, there are many players with speed and technique, the conditions to overcome opponents in confrontations.

In the group stage, in the first two matches, Quang Hai scored two goals against U23 Korea (despite losing 1-2) and U23 Australia (winning 1-0) and then had a goalless draw with U23 Syria to advance to the group stage.

At that time, U23 Vietnam played with a 3-4-3 formation, Ha Duc Chinh and Nguyen Cong Phuong took turns playing as strikers. With an excited mentality, Quang Hai played better and better, scoring 6 more goals in 3 knockout matches to win the runner-up position.

Quang Hai is lonely

Currently, no one in the U23 Vietnam team has the speed of Van Duc, nor can they dribble into empty spaces like Cong Phuong. Photo AT

Admittedly, this was a tournament where Quang Hai played brilliantly, but at that time he was always surrounded by satellites to share. Compared to 2 years ago, the attack line no longer had Phan Van Duc, Cong Phuong and Nguyen Van Toan. The wing positions were missing Doan Van Hau, Vu Van Thanh and Pham Xuan Manh.

Except for Van Hau, the remaining 5 players all came from HAGL and SLNA, in addition to possessing technique and speed, they are all players with a certain level of toughness. Playing next to Quang Hai, they make the opponent distracted because if they are not closely guarded, these players are confident enough to attack and score goals.

In the U23 Vietnam squad “2020 version”, Quang Hai is becoming lonely. The satellites Hoang Duc, Tien Linh, Duc Chinh do not have the same qualities as the players from SLNA and HAGL mentioned above. The U23 UAE and U23 Jordan players only need to closely mark Quang Hai and U23 Vietnam will be like an explosive without a fuse.

Currently, no one in the U23 Vietnam team has the speed of Van Duc, nor does he have the dribbling skills to go into empty spaces like Cong Phuong. Therefore, the West Asian players do not have too much difficulty controlling and dominating the match when facing Park Hang-seo's students.

Mr. Park was forced to pull Quang Hai back to the middle of the field many times to avoid being marked and to supplement the ability to organize the match for U23 Vietnam. According to the heat map, Quang Hai always plays very low, only hovering around the midfield line, in contrast to 2 years ago, when Hai only focused on the right wing, in front of the penalty area to hunt for goals.

Looking for the “real bird”

How to promote Quang Hai's ability. Photo AT

When Quang Hai played the role of "decoy", U23 Vietnam did not have a "real bird", which prevented the goal from coming.

There are no faces like Cong Phuong and Van Duc scoring goals like before. The current U23 Vietnam team mostly consists of strong, hard-working players but lack confidence and creativity.

Mr. Park had to forget about the central attack and mainly switched to attacking from both sides. The Korean coach had to switch to a 3-5-2 formation with Duc Chinh - Tien Linh as strikers to receive crosses, but the two wingers were not professional wingers and did not attack close to the bottom of the line to cross the ball.

After the injury, Quang Hai's physical condition is not yet guaranteed, but he has to take on both the organizing and scoring tasks alone. The captain of the U23 Vietnam team is playing the role of passing the ball the most, creating the most opportunities, holding the ball and shooting the most on the team. But "one swallow does not make a spring", up to now, Quang Hai has not scored any goals at the 2020 U23 Asia, and has not even had a clear opportunity, which is understandable.

Missing "rivers and mountains"

Mr. Park had predicted the difficulties that awaited him. To replace Cong Phuong and Van Duc, he had tried Tran Danh Trung, Martin Lo and especially Nguyen Trong Hung for the attacking midfielder role. It seemed that Trong Hung was the most expected face, but the injury of the Thanh player at the 30th SEA Games ruined his plan.

In recent years, SLNA and HAGL have not provided outstanding players, so the achievements of these two teams have been unstable. But clearly, U23 Vietnam is having difficulties at the U23 Asian Cup this time because there are no outstanding players. The nostalgia for the "mountains" and "rivers" is real!