Expert: "U23 Vietnam has not shown its full strength in the group stage"

Vietnam U23 just had a tough match with Cambodia U23, only narrowly winning 2-1 against the young team from the land of pagodas on the evening of July 22. Many opinions said that coach Kim Sang Sik's team did not play well in the last match, but former Vice President of Professional Affairs of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Duong Vu Lam has a different opinion.

Mr. Duong Vu Lam said that big teams rarely give their all in the group stage, especially against weaker opponents. Not only U23 Vietnam, U23 Indonesia and U23 Thailand also did not play very well in the group stage.

Former VFF Vice President Duong Vu Lam talked with Dan Tri reporter , looking back at the group stage journey of U23 Vietnam, as well as the prospects of the team under coach Kim Sang Sik before the semi-final match against the Philippines at 4:00 p.m. on July 25 at Bung Karno Stadium (Indonesia).

Expert:

U23 Vietnam has not satisfied fans in the group stage (Photo: VFF).

U23 Vietnam proactively plays cautiously in the group stage

How do you evaluate the group stage matches of U23 Vietnam, especially the difficult victory against U23 Cambodia on July 22?

- It is true that U23 Vietnam did not play very well against U23 Cambodia. However, I think that coach Kim Sang Sik's team did not use all their strength and did not use all their "power" in the last match.

Not only U23 Vietnam, throughout the group stage of this year's U23 Southeast Asian tournament, the strongest candidates for the championship, U23 Indonesia and U23 Thailand, also did not play at their best.

The situation in Groups A and C is similar to that of Group B, where U23 Vietnam is present. The three U23 teams of Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are in groups that are not too difficult, so no team is foolish enough to give their all in the group stage matches. The most important thing is still enough points for each team to reach the position they want.

Expert:

U23 Vietnam disappointed in the group stage (Photo: VFF).

Does that mean everything that happened in the group stage was within coach Kim Sang Sik's calculations?

- No professional coach leads his team to compete in major tournaments without calculating. As mentioned, it is not only Mr. Kim Sang Sik who calculates, the coaches of the strongest teams in this year's tournament, including U23 Indonesia and U23 Thailand, they also calculate.

Every team is afraid that their opponents will “check out” their players. Therefore, in cases where they can win without having to go all out, coaches are not foolish enough to let their players go all out.

That was the case with U23 Vietnam against U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia, the case with U23 Thailand against Timor Leste and Myanmar, and the case with Indonesia against teams in Group A. Before the most crucial matches, strong teams rarely use all their "tricks".

Long road to know good horse

Could you elaborate on this, sir?

- The goals of the teams that are considered championship candidates are different from the underdogs. For the underdogs, they may only play a few matches in the outside round. Therefore, they will use all their strength, there is no need to save anything.

Expert:

U23 Vietnam chooses peak performance in the knockout round (Photo: VFF).

As for the teams aiming for the championship, they have to play more matches and go through a longer journey than the weaker teams, so the championship candidates will choose the time to exert their strength, and cannot play with enthusiasm from the first match of the tournament to the last match of the tournament.

Even the biggest tournaments in the world like the World Cup or Euro are the same. The group stage is the stage where the championship candidates warm up, fix their own mistakes, and find the most suitable lineup and playing style for the knockout stage. That is also the image of U23 Vietnam, U23 Indonesia and Thailand at this year's Southeast Asian tournament.

As for U23 Vietnam, it is true that we were not perfect in the group stage matches, it is true that we made some mistakes. However, those are not irreparable mistakes. Everything is still under the control of U23 Vietnam, so it cannot be affirmed that U23 Vietnam has run out of cards after the group stage.

Does that mean that in the semi-finals, when we face U23 Philippines on July 25, we will give it our all?

- This is very difficult to say, it depends on the situation on the field in the upcoming semi-final match. If U23 Vietnam starts smoothly against the Philippines, we score early and have a favorable position, coach Kim Sang Sik's team still has the right to continue calculating.

The goal of U23 Vietnam is to win the championship. Before the cup match, if there are still conditions to create a smokescreen for the opponent, perhaps coach Kim Sang Sik will do it. This is what happened in the AFF Cup 2024. Only in the final match against Thailand, the Vietnamese team then used all its essence.

In case the semi-final match goes in an unfavorable direction for U23 Vietnam, we will be put in a situation where we have to use all our strength to find a goal and win against U23 Philippines. At that time, U23 Vietnam will have to use all of their trump cards, because the most important thing is still victory.

Open door to the final

How do you rate the Philippines U23 team?

- They are definitely stronger than U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia. The Philippine teams play simply but pragmatically. They have some strengths that can make it difficult for U23 Vietnam, which are their strong style and ability to take advantage of high balls.

Expert:

U23 Vietnam has a technical advantage (Photo: VFF).

The U23 Vietnam defense did not do well against the high balls against the U23 Cambodia. We conceded a goal from an aerial situation. In theory, the U23 Philippines plays better in the high balls than Cambodia, thanks to the taller Filipino players. This is something that the U23 Vietnam must be especially careful about.

In addition, the slow playing style of the Philippine teams sometimes “lulls” the Vietnamese players to sleep, causing some of our players to become complacent. We think they are bad, so we lose focus, and sometimes get punished for that loss of focus.

So what will be the chances of U23 Vietnam in the semi-finals of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament?

- Be careful with the above strengths of U23 Philippines, U23 Vietnam has no shortage of chances to win in the semi-final match. Actually, we have more strengths than our opponents. Vietnamese players are more technical, their playing style is more varied than that of the Philippines. Our ability to connect is also better.

The reason for this bond comes from the fact that Vietnamese players compete with each other regularly, in many tournaments. Meanwhile, Filipino players have little time to practice together, especially the group of naturalized players returning from abroad, they almost only connect with domestic players a few days before the tournament opens.

Also related to the naturalized players of the Philippines, they are not as combative as the naturalized players of Indonesia, so this is not too big an obstacle for U23 Vietnam.

Furthermore, the semi-final match will take place on a natural grass field, which is very different from the artificial turf field in the Philippines, so the Vietnamese players will be more comfortable in coordinating, unlike the match between the Vietnamese and Philippine teams at the AFF Cup 2024. I think U23 Vietnam will beat U23 Philippines to reach the final.

Thank you for the conversation!

Schedule of the semi-finals of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament

4:00 p.m. July 25: U23 Vietnam vs U23 Philippines.

8:00 p.m. July 25: U23 Indonesia vs U23 Thailand

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chuyen-gia-u23-viet-nam-chua-the-hien-het-suc-manh-o-vong-bang-20250724003518104.htm