Why was the U23 Vietnam defense not penetrated?

Getting through the group stage without conceding a goal at a SEA Games is already a remarkable achievement, as previously only U23 Indonesia did it at SEA Games 23-2005 (but then they conceded a goal in the semi-finals) and then the greater achievement of the Vietnam team at SEA Games 20-1999 not conceding a goal until the end of the semi-finals.

And the biggest is at the periodSEA Games 31-This 2022, U23 Vietnam is the team that achieved the special achievement of not conceding a goal in the entire tournament, successfully defending the gold medal in the most prestigious men's football event of the 2022 Southeast Asian Games. It is known that the team that achieved this achievement was the Malaysian team at the 10th SEA Games - 1979, 43 years ago.

This is also a record of 10 consecutive matches without conceding a goal for U23 Vietnam (surpassing the record of 8 matches of rival U23 Thailand) since the 2021 U23 Asian qualifiers, the 2021 Southeast Asian Championship and the 31st-2022 SEA Games. So, what has helped U23 Vietnam achieve such an "unprecedented" achievement in the youth football community in the region?

U23 Vietnam faced many difficulties against U23 Timor Leste. Photo courtesy of Bao Long

First of all, let's look at the force and the defense structure of the U23 Vietnam team since the U23 Asian qualifiers until now. The goalkeepers used in the last 3 tournaments include Van Toan, Quan Van Chuan, Tuan Hung and the regular goalkeeper at SEA Games 31 is none other than Van Toan, who was the main goalkeeper at the successful SEA Games 30 3 years ago. In the 3rd qualifying round of the World Cup in Asia, Van Toan had a match as a main goalkeeper, although it was not a complete success, it was a great opportunity to hone the character of this player in the position of "half of the team". When given the opportunity at SEA Games 31, Van Toan rarely faced real challenges because most of the opponents were clustered in defense and attacked in small, scattered ways, including the final match against U23 Thailand, but he always proved the necessary character and ability, creating real peace of mind for his teammates ahead.

Nham Manh Dung headed the goal for U23 Vietnam in the match against U23 Thailand. Photo: Internet

The 3 central defenders ofU23 Vietnamin this SEA Games has not really been stable when the tournament took place, except Thanh Binh and Viet Anh were tested in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. In which, Thanh Binh had a "disaster" in the first leg against the Chinese team but quickly regained his image in the 2021 U23 Asian qualifying round and especially in the final match of the third qualifying round, starting in the away match against the Japanese team. Thanh Binh and Viet Anh played extremely well in this match, Thanh Binh was even the author of the only goal for the Vietnamese team to take the lead against the host team, and then continued to perform excellently throughout the SEA Games and was evaluated by experts as a promising central defender of Vietnamese and regional football today. Viet Anh also quickly matured with his partner Thanh Binh. In the final match against U23 Thailand, the detail of Viet Anh stopping the dribbling of "boss" Ben Davies on the opponent's side was the "key" that made this explosive device completely silent in the match.

The remaining player in this trio is the result of Park Hang-seo's skillful search, testing and rotation. In the first important match against U23 Indonesia, Park Hang-seo used Tuan Tai and this strange 21-year-old player played well. After that, the coach unexpectedly used Tien Long on the left and Quang Nho on the right when Viet Anh was resting. Overcoming the initial difficulties and confusion, Tien Long gradually played well with his teammates and was a starter in both the semi-final and final matches. Up to now, people can only say that the best and most stable trio of central defenders of U23 Vietnam to play in the upcoming U23 Asian Finals is Tien Long-Thanh Binh-Viet Anh.

The red stands on a rainy day witnessed an exciting match of U23 Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Referee

The pair of attacking full-backs, forming 5 defenders when defending in depth, when advancing according to the 3-5-2 formation of U23 Vietnam, has long been "defaulted" to be Van Xuan-Van Do. These are the players that Mr. Park Hang-seo always trusts, arranged on the right, sometimes on the left according to tactical requirements and they are always the most powerful weapons of the Korean coach.

The third person who is always substituted when needed is Tuan Tai, who initially plays as a left-sided center-back and when the front line is stuck, is brought in to "solve" any possible problems. In the deadlocked semi-final against U23 Malaysia, Tuan Tai was brought in in the second half and proved his ability with his coordination on the wing and accurate crosses to his teammates inside. When Van Xuan was injured, Tuan Tai was in the starting lineup in the final and his excellent assist leading to Manh Dung's goal showed that this is exactly what U23 Vietnam needs more than ever, a real "card up the sleeve" of Mr. Park Hang-seo even though this player was only discovered from the "replenishment force" for U23 Vietnam at the tournament in Cambodia.

Of course, to defend effectively without conceding a goal, the team needs to defend well from a distance, needs to transition well, needs countless other conditions... But with a force that has been trained through many different big and small tournaments, with timely additions, reasonable succession, with the trust of the coach and the reward of the students, U23 Vietnam has built the most solid defense, the most stable performance as seen is truly something to be proud of. That is a great lesson from Mr. Park Hang-seo for Vietnamese football, which needs to be maintained and promoted in the coming time./.