"Hold onto the gold, don't let it slip away."

Việt Nam•21/09/2023

08:30, 21/09/2023

At 6:30 PM tonight (September 21st), the Vietnamese Olympic team will face the Iranian Olympic team. We've already secured our first victory against Mongolia, while Saudi Arabia drew with Iran. Will we be able to open the door to the Round of 16 when the chances are not insignificant?

Unless something unexpected happens, we will most likely finish third in Group B. One possible scenario is losing to both Iran and Saudi Arabia. In that case, the Vietnamese Olympic team would have to compare their performance with the four third-placed teams in Groups A, D, E, and F to determine the four best third-placed teams to advance to the Round of 16 in the men's football tournament at ASIAD 2023.

Because the number of teams in each group is not equal, according to the regulations, the result against the last-placed team in groups of four teams is not counted when comparing the performance of the five third-placed teams in groups A, B, D, E, and F. Therefore, if the Vietnamese Olympic team finishes third in group B, our 4-2 victory against Mongolia will not be used for comparison.

If Vietnam loses to both Iran and Saudi Arabia, when comparing our performance with the four third-placed teams in groups A, D, E, and F, we will have no points and a goal difference of less than 0 (negative). Vietnam will be eliminated from the group stage if our performance is worse than the four third-placed teams in groups A, D, E, and F.

The danger was foreseeable. Simply put, the task for Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team is to earn at least one point against either Iran or Saudi Arabia, or at least avoid a heavy defeat to keep their hopes of advancing from the group stage alive. A victory against the remaining two opponents to secure direct qualification would be fantastic. We still have the right to dream of that and can begin nurturing our aspirations this afternoon.

Striker Quoc Viet (center) is a great hope after scoring two goals against the Mongolian Olympic team.

Iran's preparations were disrupted by their poor performance in the 2024 U23 Asian Championship qualifiers. Their initial plan was to use the same players from the qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Games. However, their failure to qualify for the finals led coach Reza Enayati to make significant changes to the squad. He retained only six players and called up 16 completely new ones. Notably, the Iranian players had not trained together for a single day before departing for China, causing concern among Iranian media about the team's performance. Despite the difficulties with five players missing and the lack of prior preparation, the Iranian Olympic team proved to be a formidable force. Against a highly-rated Saudi Arabian Olympic team, Iran displayed a high level of skill with quick integration and strong cohesion. This team controlled the ball better and created more clear-cut scoring opportunities. The Iranian Olympic team's tactics relied heavily on strength, based on their abundant physical fitness. Their two wingers, Jafari and Eslami on the left and Touanian and Mamizadeh on the right, possessed speed, effectively supporting each other in both attack and defense. Many players from the Vietnamese Olympic team had previously faced the Iranian youth team in the 2023 AFC U20 Championship. The disadvantage that led to Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team losing was their physique and stamina. Iran transformed their strength into a formidable weapon with every run, leaving Van Khang and his teammates unable to keep up. The current Iranian Olympic team also possesses this physical strength.

Clearly, the lessons learned from last March's defeat are very useful for the Vietnamese Olympic team in this match. A well-organized game plan with tight pressing and pressing, as well as proper energy management to ensure a strong performance for 90 minutes, are certainly issues that coach Hoang Anh Tuan will have to pay attention to with his players when facing the Iranian Olympic team.

Overall, the Iranian Olympic team is more well-rounded than the Vietnamese Olympic team in this match. However, if they implement a sensible counter-attacking strategy, especially reinforcing their defense in time, and if goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan regains his form, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team can certainly earn points against the team from West Asia.

Phong Uyen

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