Vietnam U23 team: Lessons before the quarterfinals

Facing strong opponent U23 Uzbekistan, U23 Vietnam revealed even more professional limitations. Meanwhile, opponent U23 Ir aq is a quite strong team.

Specifically, after losing to U23 Thailand 0-2 in the opening match, U23 Iraq won U23 Tajikistan 4-2 and U23 Saudi Arabia 2-1 to enter the quarterfinals with the top spot in Group C.

Make too many mistakes

Vietnam’s U23 team has achieved many impressive milestones after the group stage of the 2024 Asian U23 Championship.

Not only is the Southeast Asian team starting the tournament with two consecutive victories for the first time, U23 Vietnam is also in the top 5 teams scoring the most in the group stage with 5 goals, behind U23 Saudi Arabia, U23 Uzbekistan (and U23 Uzbekistan). 10 goals), U23 Iraq (6 goals) and ranked above South Korea, Qatar (with 4 goals) or Japan (3 goals).

But U23 Vietnam is also in the top 5 teams that committed the most fouls (38 times) and received the most penalty cards (7 yellow cards, 1 red card) in the group stage. In particular, U23 Vietnam players had 12 fouls and had to receive 2 yellow cards against Uzbekistan in the final round, when they were sure to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Worth mentioning, the above two yellow cards are not worth having. In the 27th minute, midfielder Duc Viet received a yellow card after elbowing the Uzbekistan U23 player in the middle of the field, when neither of them were involved in the ball situation.

Luckily, the referee, after consulting VAR, only gave Duc Viet a yellow card. Defender Hong Phuc’s second yellow card in the 54th minute was even more absurd when he pushed goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov in the penalty area.

It’s easy to see that Vietnamese U23 players often make the familiar “extra arm” mistake in the V-League. Midfielder Ngoc Thang received a red card in the opening match against Kuwait U23, also due to an “extra arm” error.

Returning in the match against U23 Uzbekistan, Ngoc Thang played unsteadily and coach Hoang Anh Tuan admitted that the previous red card had affected his spirit too much.

In the upcoming knockout matches, there will be no chance for U23 Vietnam to make mistakes. That is something that coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team must seriously learn from.

Precious preparation step

However, the loss to Uzbekistan also brought many benefits to U23 Vietnam for the upcoming quarterfinal match with Iraq. The key players are recuperating. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan checked alternative plans, calculated personnel and found the most optimal solution for the match against U23 Iraq. Especially the defense and midfield.

With limited physical strength, the trio of central midfielders Duc Phu – Duc Viet – Thai Son could not help U23 Vietnam rise to the occasion in the first half against U23 Uzbekistan. The loss of the midfield also puts Vietnam’s U23 defense in a position where they have to fight hard.

It can be seen that the optimal plan for the central defender trio for the quarter-final match against U23 Iraq will be Le Nguyen Hoang – Luong Duy Cuong – Ngoc Thang. But the unstable mentality of experienced player Ngoc Thang may cause coach Hoang Anh Tuan to recalculate.

All three goals lost by U23 Vietnam against Uzbekistan were the fault of midfielder trio Ngoc Thang – Quang Thinh – Luong Duy Cuong. The most obvious mistakes were made by Quang Thinh – the first time the midfielder appeared on the field – in the second goal and Luong Duy Cuong in the third goal.

Talking about the upcoming quarterfinals, coach Hoang Anh Tuan admitted that it will be very difficult, but he is confident that U23 Vietnam can still make things happen.

“In the group stage, Iraq U23 lost to Thailand U23. But that does not mean Iraq U23 is a weak team. They are still a strong team. However, I want to reiterate that we came here to compete and compete. The players will show a different face in the quarterfinals.

With the nature of the knockout match, anything can happen. And the chances for the two teams are 50-50,” Mr. Tuan said.