2014 AFC U19 Championship Finals: What are the chances for Vietnam U19?

(Baonghean) - At 4pm today, in the framework of the 2014 U19 Asian Finals, the U19 Vietnam team will really face difficulties when facing the U19 Korea team. Although coach Guillaume Graechen and his team and fans have not lost faith in creating an earthquake in this year's tournament, but once the opponent is a team from one of the most developed football backgrounds in the continent, it will be very difficult for the U19 Vietnam team to win, so 1 point is a possible goal and can also be considered a surprise of the tournament...

U19 Vietnam diligently practices in Myanmar. Photo: VOV

At the recent U19 Southeast Asian Championship Finals, the U19 Vietnam team caused a real fever for domestic football fans. When Cong Phuong and his teammates played, fans had to search for tickets at all costs, even though the price was increased by dozens of times. In the stadium, the fans cheered with the most love and enthusiasm. In response to that love, on the field, the players of Coach Guillaume Graechen performed a charming and determined style of play. Although they could not win the championship, what Cong Phuong, Tan Tai and their teammates showed made the fans satisfied and amazed.

After finishing the U19 Southeast Asia Tournament - Nutifood Cup, coach Guillaume Graechen and his team are preparing for the 2014 U19 Asian Finals. For the U19 Vietnam players, this is the biggest tournament they will participate in this year and from this tournament, Vietnamese football people will be able to assess the most realistic level of the U19 Vietnam team compared to the region. Therefore, in the past few days, coach Guillaume Graechen and his team have been working very hard to practice. As soon as they arrived in Myanmar, U19 Vietnam went to Wunna Theikdi Stadium to practice before entering the "big battle". Although the weather conditions in Myanmar this season are very harsh, with determination and to respond to the love and expectations of fans at home, the U19 Vietnam players are very enthusiastic in practicing and full of confidence that they will go deep into the tournament.

In terms of strength, U19 Vietnam is currently facing many difficulties in defense, especially the absence of "irreplaceable" center back Tran Huu Dong Trieu. Since the introduction of the talented U19 players, besides the brilliance of names like Cong Phuong, Luong Xuan Truong... in the front line, Dong Trieu is the "steel shield" in front of the home team's goal. His absence is a big loss, because the U19 Vietnam defense at the moment is not rated too highly.

As for the opponent, U19 Korea - a team from the top football in the continent and they are currently the defending champions of this tournament. However, recently, U19 Korea has not been very successful, only ranking 2nd in the qualifying round after the Indonesian team to be present in the final round this time. However, things can change, because currently in the hands of coach Kim Sang Ho there are 4 players added from top European clubs. In which, the most notable are the two names Kim Shin (Lyon Club) and Paik Seung-ho (La Masia Barcelona Academy). If Kim Shin is a tall striker with good dribbling ability, then Paik Seung-ho is a highly skilled player and is known as "Messi of Korea". The remaining players are currently university students or playing for domestic clubs.

Before this crucial match, the goals of the two teams are very clear. For U19 Vietnam, besides the goal of winning a match to create a good mentality for the next opponents, further is to enter the top 4 to have a place to represent Asia to attend the U20 World Cup Finals next year. As for U19 Korea, their goal is nothing other than successfully defending the championship. Speaking at the press conference before the match, coach Kim Sang Ho had a lot of respect for the U19 Vietnam team, he said: “U19 Vietnam is showing clear progress. I watched their matches at My Dinh recently (Southeast Asian U19 Championship). They have the ability to create breakthroughs and cause surprises. Therefore, we need to enter the match with a cautious mentality and play to the best of our ability in the opening match.” Coach Guillaume said: “We will enter the opening match tomorrow with the highest determination. Each team in this group has its own style and strengths, so I hope my players will adapt well.”

In terms of strength, the team from the land of Kim Chi is better than us, so in this afternoon's match, the most important thing for Cong Phuong and his teammates is to enter the match with confidence, implementing the tactics set out by the coach to have a game that is not too inferior to the opponent. And must make the most of even the smallest opportunities to hope for points. Besides, they must know how to distribute their strength for the entire 90 minutes so as not to run out of breath in the second half of the match, something that fans have witnessed in matches against big opponents of U19 Vietnam. Knowing that this is an extremely difficult match, the chance to score points is very small, but when the ball has not yet rolled, fans still have the right to hope for another miracle from the U19 Vietnam players.

South Scene