Expert: “U23 Vietnam somewhat hid its cards in the loss to U23 Uzbekistan”

How do you evaluate U23 Vietnam through the match against U23 Uzbekistan last night (April 23), at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan (Qatar)?

– For professionals like us, matches like this cannot be commented on, nor is it easy to make comments, because this match has no meaning of competing for achievements. No one puts all their effort into a match that doesn’t have much meaning in terms of achievement.

I think U23 Vietnam hid their cards in the match against U23 Uzbekistan last night and so did their opponents. Of course, overall, Uzbekistan football is much stronger than Vietnamese football, so they had a big victory (3-0).

However, because this is a test match, it is difficult for us to say what the coaches of the two teams calculated? At the same time, the effectiveness of the experiments is something that only the coaches who directly control the team can know best.

And overall, how did U23 Vietnam perform in the past journey of the group stage of this year’s Asian U23 tournament, sir?

– Compared to the time of his predecessor Philippe Troussier, coach Hoang Anh Tuan built a clearer playing style, clearer fighting strategies and richer in personality. U23 Vietnam’s ball attacks under coach Hoang Anh Tuan are more open than under coach Troussier.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s way of evaluating opponents, as far as I know, I know the person. He adjusts depending on the opponents we face, depending on what happens on the field. I think that the teams that lost to U23 Vietnam, including Kuwait (1-3) and Malaysia (0-2), are not weak.

Malaysia played uncomfortably, pressing against Vietnam’s U23 players, and Kuwait, before this team lost players, pressed us quite hard on the field. Only from the moment of playing without players did Kuwait’s tactical plan go bankrupt and their morale dropped. But these teams are not weak, winning against them is not easy.

What about the upcoming quarter-final match against Iraq U23? How does Iraqi football compare to Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia football?

– It is difficult to say which team U23 Iraq and U23 Uzbekistan are stronger. The common point is that all three football backgrounds of Uzbekistan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are much stronger than Vietnamese football. Whichever team we meet among these 3 opponents, we must play with the position of the weaker team facing the stronger team.

Each opponent is different, U23 Vietnam will have different strategies. In the next few days, coach Hoang Anh Tuan will calculate a specific plan for the match with U23 Iraq. These plans must be known in battle.

Initially, as I said, U23 Vietnam is having positive changes, both in playing style and spirit under coach Hoang Anh Tuan. As for the specific progress, we will have the answer in the upcoming quarterfinals.

Thank you for the discussion!