Against a more highly rated opponent like U.23 Iraq, the U.23 Vietnam team entered the match quite confidently in the final quarterfinals of the 2024 U.23 Asia tournament taking place in the early morning of April 27. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s team proactively played close and fast, competing for the ball right in the opponent’s half of the field.
During the first third of the first half, U.23 Vietnam showed an aggressive style of play and created waves in the penalty area of U.23 Iraq. However, no truly dangerous ball was created by the Vietnamese players on the goal of the representative from West Asia.
U.23 Vietnam had a pretty good match against U.23 Iraq
After a somewhat struggling first period, Iraq U.23 began to “heat up” and regained the initiative on the field. The West Asian team held the ball more and forced goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan to work at full capacity. However, U.23 Vietnam’s defense system maintained focus and limited the enemy’s danger. In the first half there was only 1 clear situation that could lead to a goal. In the 16th minute, Mohamed Basim shot a very strong shot, but Quan Van Chuan showed his talent to save the goal.
In the 58th minute, Khuat Van Khang made the Iraqi players and fans’ hearts skip a beat. Van Khang’s hanging ball from the left wing sent the ball a bit deep but suddenly hit the crossbar, almost becoming a goal for U.23 Vietnam.
Ali Jasim beat Quan Van Chuan to score from the penalty spot
When the game was balanced, a mistake by the defense caused U.23 Vietnam to receive a penalty. Quan Van Chuan was the one who fouled an opposing player in the penalty area. He swung his arms to block, both hands hitting the opponent’s shoulders hard, causing the player to fall over. After consulting VAR, the Korean referee pointed to the penalty spot. At the 11 meter mark, Ali Jasim finished neatly to break the deadlock for Iraq U.23.
At the 2023 Asian U.23 Finals, U.23 Vietnam also reached the quarterfinals and Quan Van Chuan received a red card when he fouled the U.23 Saudi Arabian striker. Coach Gong Oh-kyun’s team then stopped in the round for the 8 strongest teams.
Returning to the 2024 U.23 Asia quarterfinals, minute 90+1, midfielder Nguyen Manh Hung stepped on his opponent’s foot and could not bypass VAR. After consulting the slow-motion video, the referee drew a red card and disqualified Manh Hung.
In the end, Iraq U.23 beat Vietnam U.23 1-0 and advanced to the semi-finals to face Japan U.23.
