Expert Phan Anh Tu: U23 Vietnam still has to fix many things

The 2-1 victory in the final minutes of U23 Vietnam against U23 Cambodia helped coach Kim Sang Sik and his team enter the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and meet U23 Philippines on July 25 in Jakarta.

Coach Kim Sang Sik still has a lot of work to do - Photo: ANH KHOA

U23 Vietnam won the top spot in the group after a 2-1 win over Cambodia on the night of July 22. Both of U23 Vietnam's goals were scored by headers by Pham Ly Duc and Nguyen Dinh Bac.

Expert Phan Anh Tu did not rate highly the performance of the U23 Vietnam players against Cambodia. He said that the team needs to improve a lot to defend the championship title.

Mr. Phan Anh Tu said: "After 2 matches, I think the playing style of the U23 Vietnam team still needs to be fixed a lot. There are many issues that need to be improved. Many players handle the ball naively and pass the ball wrong easily.

We don’t see sharp, tactical combinations from the team. Instead, there are passes that are sloppy and don’t give a final answer.

Facing two teams that are considered weaker than Laos and Cambodia, this is an opportunity for U23 Vietnam to practice. However, the U23 Vietnam team has not shown who is the real leader in the team.

Not only that, I do not see the role of the match leader. The team also does not have any outstanding stars. Remember, at the age of U23, these players should have been the pillars of the Vietnam team.

Lacking talented people, the overall playing style of U23 Vietnam is still limited. The good thing is that we have a solid defense line and it is the foundation for developing the forward line.

The defense is the mainstay of U23 Vietnam - Photo: ANH KHOA

It can be seen that Ly Duc and Hieu Minh have shown their role in participating in the attack, creating breakthroughs while the strikers have not found a solution. That can be considered a bright spot of coach Kim Sang Sik.

In the semi-finals, there are also U23 Indonesia, U23 Philippines, U23 Thailand. In general, no team is perfect. U23 Thailand has good technique, U23 Vietnam has a tight defense, U23 Indonesia is enthusiastic.

There will be many factors and it will be difficult to predict in the knockout round. Hopefully, Mr. Kim Sang Sik will still be good with his personnel changes to make a difference in the match."

U23 Vietnam will meet U23 Philippines in the semi-finals. The match will take place at 4pm on July 25 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-gia-phan-anh-tu-u23-viet-nam-con-phai-sua-nhieu-20250722230943501.htm