The 'rich' left wing of U23 Vietnam

U23 - Ảnh 1. — Khuat Van Khang on the training ground in Indonesia - Photo: VFF

Therefore, choosing a left-back or left-forward requires Mr. Kim to take advantage of the remaining training sessions to evaluate personnel and build an optimal framework towards the goal of achieving favorable results in the opening match against U23 Laos on July 19.

Who replaces Thanh Nhan?

Thanh Nhan was injured during a practice session on the evening of July 16. On the morning of July 17, he was taken to the hospital by the medical team for an MRI scan, the results showed that Thanh Nhan had damaged the ligaments in his left ankle and could not recover in time.

In order to timely supplement the force, Coach Kim Sang Sik decided to recall "Best Young Player of V-League 2024 - 2025" Le Van Thuan (Thanh Hoa Club). This is a versatile midfielder who was eliminated by him in the first screening round of the training trip in Ba Ria - Vung Tau .

The 19-year-old player will arrive in Indonesia today (July 18) to attend the training session that will take place in the afternoon of the same day, but the possibility of Van Thuan starting is not high as he has little time to integrate and is still too young.

Mr. Kim only brought to Indonesia 4 strikers: Quoc Viet, Thanh Nhan, Dinh Bac and new player Nguyen Ngoc My. Of these, Quoc Viet is the player who will play highest in the attack line.

Quoc Viet's experience, good expertise and high performance make Mr. Kim feel secure to let him lead the U23 Vietnam attack. The two remaining winger positions in the 3-4-3 formation will be Thanh Nhan (right) and Dinh Bac (left).

But since Thanh Nhan has left, Mr. Kim will most likely choose Phi Hoang - the player who was assigned by head coach Dinh Hong Vinh to play left forward for all 3 matches in the CFA China Teram 2025 International Friendly Tournament last March in China. The remaining striker Ngoc My will only play as a backup striker for Quoc Viet or as a left forward.

"Cramped" left wing

Similar to the Vietnamese team, coach Kim Sang Sik has many quality players on the left wing. Many of them can play as both left back and left forward. Therefore, Mr. Kim has to rotate and test many different positions for his students on the training ground.

Dinh Bac plays very well in the left forward position. But Khuat Van Khang can also play well in this position to take advantage of his danger when playing close to the penalty area instead of left back for more than 2 years.

This is also the way Mr. Kim prepares him for the future when playing for the Vietnam national team. This is because the left-back position is already occupied by Cao Pendant Quang Vinh. And he performed well in the match against Malaysia in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup last June.

In addition to Dinh Bac and Van Khang, Mr. Kim also has Viktor Le - who has also played impressively when playing as a left forward recently. The important thing is whether Mr. Kim will choose Viktor Le to play as a left forward or a central midfielder?

Because in the midfield circle, the pair Thai Son - Van Truong is not too superior to Viktor Le. In addition, in the left forward position, Phi Hoang, Ngoc My or Le Van Thuan can also play well. Therefore, choosing and balancing the squad is something Mr. Kim must carefully calculate.

The left-back position also gives Mr. Kim a "headache" with Van Khang and Phi Hoang. In terms of experience and expertise, no other left-back can compare to Van Khang or Phi Hoang. The player who can play relatively well is Thanh Dat.

Mr. Kim only has one tactical training session today (July 18) to finalize the squad before entering the opening match with U23 Laos a day later. There is not much time left, but Mr. Kim has two matches with U23 Laos and Cambodia to play and review the squad to find the optimal lineup for the knockout round.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/canh-trai-giau-co-cua-u23-viet-nam-20250718080118563.htm