Vietnam U23's victory and how coach Kim Sang-sik turned the situation around

TPO - U23 Vietnam won a narrow victory over U23 Yemen, after many difficulties. Not only was it Thanh Nhan's decisive goal, it was also a credit to coach Kim Sang-sik, who was not afraid to make bold decisions to turn the situation around.

Although 1 point is enough for U23 Vietnam to maintain the top position in the group and advance to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, the red team wants more than that.

More than once, coach Kim Sang-sik has affirmed that his team's only goal is to win. In addition to the goal of thanking fans and bringing joy on National Day, the Korean strategist certainly wants to ensure a perfect record in the U23 Asian qualifiers like his senior Park Hang-seo, who won all 5 qualifying matches in 2020 and 2022.

However, U23 Vietnam had a difficult start on the evening of September 9.

Despite dominating the ball and pushing the opponent deep into the 1/3 of the field, no matter how hard they tried, they still could not penetrate the disciplined and crowded defense of U23 Yemen.

At some points, the red shirt team was also threatened by quick counter-attacks from U23 Yemen.

Outside, coach Kim Sang-sik appeared very impatient.

In the 38th minute, he decided to replace the entire attack line. Dinh Bac, Van Thuan, Thanh Nhan entered the field to replace Quoc Viet, Van Khang, Ngoc My.

The adjustments brought excitement but the goal still did not come even though U23 Vietnam tried many options, from long passes, short combinations to breakthroughs from both wings.

This development caused coach Kim Sang-sik to change his strategy. He instructed his players to play low, luring Yemen U23 to push up to reveal gaps, while conserving energy to accelerate at the right time.

That moment came in the 70th minute. Thanh Nhan moved to the right wing and coordinated, then suddenly attacked and fired a diagonal shot, breaking the net of U23 Yemen.

Thanh Nhan became the 4th player to score for U23 Vietnam in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers, after Ngoc My, Van Thuan, and Le Viktor. He is also the 10th player to score for U23 Vietnam in the last 7 matches. Once again, coach Kim Sang-sik's rotation policy has been effective.

The Korean strategist also continued to prove that he is very good at detecting the opponent's weaknesses as well as the ability to customize and bring the match to a favorable result.

With a 1-0 victory, U23 Vietnam has officially entered the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. And hopefully coach Kim Sang-sik's strategic planning will help us go far.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/chien-thang-cua-u23-viet-nam-va-cach-hlv-kim-sang-sik-xoay-chuyen-tinh-the-post1776805.tpo