Physical fitness is no longer an issue for the Vietnam U23 team.
ASEAN Football has discovered an extremely interesting detail: in the U.23 Asian Championship quarter-final on January 16th, in the 105th minute of extra time, members of the Vietnamese U.23 coaching staff shouted instructions to the players: "Play one-touch football quickly, the UAE team is exhausted."
Vietnam U23 defeated UAE U23 in a physically demanding match during extra time, surprising many experts. If they maintain this strength, coach Kim Sang-sik's team has every chance of breaking through China U23's defense in the semi-finals.
Photo: Ted Tran
"This is astonishing, not only for football experts in Southeast Asia but also in Asia, who were completely surprised by this turn of events. Because no one expected the Vietnam U23 team to shock an opponent from West Asia, a region known for its strength and physicality, by using physical strength and one-touch play to exhaust the opponent before delivering the finishing blow," ASEAN FOOTBALL expressed.
Korean media likened the U.23 Vietnam - China semi-final to a clash of 'spear and shield'.
"This perfectly demonstrated the incredible physical condition of the young Vietnamese U23 players, while the UAE U23 team, known for their powerful playing style and having a number of naturalized players of African origin, were now at a disadvantage against this strength from their Southeast Asian opponents."
And indeed, Vietnam U23 dominated in extra time. Players Dinh Bac, Thai Son, and Minh Phuc constantly ran without stopping, forcing UAE U23 to tire, before the decisive moment arrived - sharp and sublime one-touch passing combinations in the penalty area sealed the victory for Vietnam U23 with Minh Phuc's goal in the 101st minute," according to ASEAN FOOTBALL .
"Besides their spirit and brilliant tactics, physical endurance has clearly become one of the key strengths of the Vietnam U23 team, allowing them to compete on equal footing and convincingly defeat many strong opponents, including teams from the West Asian region, so far three teams including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and UAE, and the remaining team is Kyrgyzstan from Central Asia," ASEAN FOOTBALL emphasized.
Captain Khuat Van Khang will continue to lead the Vietnam U23 team to victory over China U23, reaching the Asian U23 Championship final for the second time in history.
Photo: Ted Tran
In the ASEAN FOOTBALL commentary section , fans in Southeast Asia also assessed that the Vietnam U23 team needs to maintain the same level of fitness and enthusiasm as shown in the past four matches to overcome their semi-final opponent, China U23, in the match at 10:30 PM on January 20th.
"China's U23 team advanced to the semi-finals with a defensive style of play, and they will certainly employ this tactic again when facing Vietnam's U23 team. However, observing their recent matches, China's U23 team drew 0-0 against Thailand's U23 team in the final group stage match and against Uzbekistan's U23 team in the quarter-finals before winning on penalties. They were very lucky to maintain the 0-0 draw, precisely due to the impatience and haste of their opponents."
Undeniably, goalkeeper Li Hao and the numerous defenders of the Chinese U23 team played very well, but their opponents were too poor due to a lack of composure. In particular, the Thai U23 team squandered many opportunities that could have forced goalkeeper Li Hao to pick the ball out of the net, due to their impatience in finishing. Similarly, the Uzbekistani U23 players, if they had been more alert in some crucial chances, could have broken the deadlock," commented a user on ASEAN FOOTBALL on social media platform X.
Also on the ASEAN FOOTBALL website , many analyses suggest: "It will be very different with the Vietnam U23 team, because Coach Kim Sang-sik's squad possesses a diverse range of goal scorers across all positions, and they always know how to unlock even the best defenses."
A prime example is the UAE U23 team, which employed a tight defensive strategy followed by extremely quick counter-attacks. However, they ultimately suffered a convincing defeat against Vietnam U23, due to the opponent's superior physical fitness and diverse playing style.
To date, besides Dinh Bac, who is the top scorer for Vietnam U23 (3 goals), the remaining 4 goals were scored by Khuat Van Khang (midfielder), Hieu Minh (defender), Le Phat (forward), and Minh Phuc (midfielder). Vietnam U23's 8th goal was an own goal by Brauzman in their 2-1 victory against Kyrgyzstan U23 in the group stage.
The relentless attacking pressure from the Vietnam U23 team is also a weapon that makes the opposing defenders confused. If the China U23 team continues to employ a defensive strategy, they will certainly face a huge challenge, because the Vietnam U23 team is too resilient and has more talented players."
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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/choi-mot-cham-thang-hoa-u23-viet-nam-se-vat-kiet-suc-u23-trung-quoc-de-vao-chung-ket-185260120094012985.htm
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