Quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian U23 Championship: Waiting for a surprise from U23 Vietnam

According to statistics from the international transfer site transfermarkt, the value of Vietnam’s U23 team (2.19 million euros) is higher than that of Iraq’s U23s (1.98 million euros). But don’t look at that number to think that U23 Vietnam is stronger.

Class of U23 Iraq

This is because U23 Iraq only has 9/23 players evaluated, while U23 Vietnam has 21/23 players. In reality, expertise is a significant gap between the two football backgrounds.

Over the past year, Vietnamese football has never had a draw with Iraq. Specifically, Vietnam lost 0-1 to Iraq in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup at My Dinh Stadium (Hanoi) and 2-3 in the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar. Vietnam U23 team easily lost to Iraq U23 0-3 in the 2023 Doha Cup friendly tournament in a match that resulted in 2 red cards. This shows that U23 Vietnam promises to face many difficulties in the rematch with U23 Iraq.

Like Vietnam, U23 Iraq won 2 and lost 1 in the group stage of the 2024 Asian U23 Championship. However, U23 Iraq gave a very impressive victory when defeating defending champion U23 Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the final match, thereby won first place in Group C from their opponents. Ball control 37%, passing accuracy 71% (Saudi Arabia U23 is 83%); But U23 Iraq took advantage of the better opportunity to win. That is something that U23 Vietnam must be afraid of with a defense that has not yet created peace of mind.

The more they play, the better Iraq U23 plays thanks to the solid vertical axis of players playing in Europe or playing for the national team. The central defender pair Josef Al Imam – Zaid Tahseen played solidly. Up top, midfielders Ali Al Mosawe, Ali Jasim and striker Amin Al Hamawi all have the ability to create or score goals. The most prominent is Ali Jasim – the player who had 2 assists in Iraq’s 3-2 victory over Vietnam in the 2023 Asian Cup.

Counting the 11m penalty shootout

Strong, but Iraq U23 is not without weaknesses. In the 0-2 loss to Thailand U23, despite losing someone to a red card in the 71st minute, Iraq U23 still controlled the ball 57%, launching 23 shots (5 on target) compared to only 7 shots (3 hit the target) of the opponent. But the final victory belonged to U23 Thailand thanks to a reasonable playing style. That is also a suggestion for U23 Vietnam to achieve similar results. “U23 Iraq attacks the middle and combines crosses from both sides. We will try to overcome and counter their crosses most effectively. At the same time, push the opponent away from the goal area,” said the goalkeeper. Quan Van Chuan said.

After losing to U23 Uzbekistan 0-3 in the final round of the group stage, coach Hoang Anh Tuan made the most of the past 2 days to train his players’ fighting strategies for the quarter-finals. He made adjustments in the practice lesson plan. Especially adding many tactical exercises to overcome the strengths of Iraq U23. Besides, the coaching staff also spent a lot of time for the whole team to practice 11m shooting. The intention of coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team is quite clear: maximum defense to not concede a goal and drag the match to a penalty shootout.

Will play with 4 central defenders?

It is likely that U23 Vietnam will not have many changes in the starting lineup compared to the two wins against U23 Kuwait and U23 Malaysia. The position that can be changed is left center back when Ngoc Thang has not yet escaped the psychological trauma after the red card in the opening match. But we cannot rule out the possibility that coach Hoang Anh Tuan will start 4 midfielders on the field from the start. The only difference is the appearance of Luong Duy Cuong as defensive midfielder. This is the plan that coach Gong Oh Kyun used at the 2022 Asian U23 Championship, to increase defense ability and execute quick counterattacks.

Talking about his preparation, coach Hoang Anh Tuan shared: “In football, we can’t say anything until we play. We have prepared professionally and mentally. The competition rules need to take into account extra time, Shootouts. Those have clear preparations and are ready, no matter what situation the match goes to.”