Many fans must have frowned, then asked the question, why did Duc Viet foul Jasurbek Jaloliddinov in the 23rd minute? That is understood to be a cold shot in the middle of the field and is completely unnecessary, it is even difficult to explain satisfactorily why it happened. Remember that the match with U23 Uzbekistan is only a formality, and what needs to be done is to minimize injuries and penalties.
However, Duc Viet received a yellow card and felt lucky that it was not a red card. In the opening match, coach Hoang Anh Tuan was very dissatisfied with Ngoc Thang’s red card. He emphasized that “it’s not a mistake, it’s a habit.” Duc Viet, and then Hong Phuc, with the situation of nudging the opposing team’s goalkeeper to receive a yellow card in the 54th minute, proved the 55-year-old strategist completely right. Excessive arm swings and foot swings have become habits that are difficult to break. It will appear at any time, even in the context of complete psychological comfort.
Speaking of psychological comfort, another question arises when looking back at U23 Vietnam’s first defeat at the 2024 U23 Asian Finals. Many people expected a good performance when Coach Hoang Anh’s students Tuan plays without pressure, without worrying about the results. But it didn’t come.
In a match where psychological comfort was allowed, the U23 Vietnamese players did not play as expected.
How to say it, quite similar to the previous two matches, U23 Vietnam continued to show confusion as the players still stepped on each other’s feet and had little connection. The first two goals denounced the defenders’ lack of information and poor coverage. With just a simple pass aimed at the back of the defense, U23 Uzbekistan easily collapsed the red team’s defense line. Even though there is a large concentration of troops, it is quite chaotic, and the gaps are always too much for opponents to exploit.
Of course there is also a big difference in class here. And that is shown right in the determination to win as well as the excited celebrations every time the Central Asian players score a goal.
Before the match, there was some speculation about the two teams “ceding” first place in the group to avoid U23 Saudi Arabia. But no, Uzbekistan U23 still played hard. The 2018 champion and 2022 runner-up do not hide their ambition to compete for the championship, so they are ready to face all opponents.
Faced with this approach, U23 Vietnam does not have a satisfactory answer. We face countless difficulties in deploying the ball forward. In other words, it is almost impossible to escape the home field when players in white shirts are always swarming.
Facing a strong opponent, U23 Vietnam really had difficulty getting on the ball and creating opportunities. We only held the ball 32% and had 2 shots on target (but didn’t cause many problems for the Uzbekistan U23 goalkeeper).
In addition to being poor at escaping pressing, coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s students also lacked boldness and ideas, leading to countless back passes. Things only got better in the second half, when Uzbekistan U23 slowed down and a number of key players came on the field.
We still know that the results of the final group stage match are not important, and we took the field with a lot of chaos in the squad, but that doesn’t mean we should take lightly what happened. U23 Iraq is not an easy opponent. They won the championship in 2013 and recently, surprised everyone by defeating defending champion U23 Saudi Arabia.
If U23 Vietnam continues to lack cohesion and fails to establish a solid defense, and lacks speed and boldness when transitioning and organizing attacks, it is difficult to think about the future. a surprise ending. Not to mention things can get worse if bad habits reoccur, bringing forgettable experiences, instead of being as memorable as they should be.
Thanh Hai
