The 1.8m tall defense of U.23 Vietnam: Not 'hunting' for high balls would be a waste

The high balls that tore through the net of U.23 Laos showed that U.23 Vietnam is capable of sharpening its aerial weapons to fly high in the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian tournament.

U.23 Vietnam sharpens its high ball weapon

The 3-0 victory over U.23 Laos on the opening day helped U.23 Vietnam achieve three important goals: take the top spot in the group, preserve their strength, and at the same time start gently, in a context where they do not need to go all out.

It is believed that U.23 Vietnam still has many tricks up their sleeves for the upcoming matches, because after all, U.23 Southeast Asia is a long journey. The goal of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team is to win the top spot in the group, equivalent to a direct ticket to the semi-finals. Once they pass the group stage, the real battle begins.

U.23 Vietnam (white shirt) has not yet given their all - PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Although U.23 Vietnam has not yet shown all of its "playbook", there are still some ideas that have taken shape in the way coach Kim's students operate. The most obvious of these are the high ball situations.

2 out of 3 goals of U.23 Vietnam against U.23 Laos came from high balls. In the move to increase the score to 2-0, Nguyen Dinh Bac kicked a corner kick just in time for Nguyen Hieu Minh to cut in and head the ball into the net. Meanwhile, in the third goal, Khuat Van Khang's corner kick created a chaotic situation, where the tall players of U.23 Vietnam dominated the space above, making it impossible for the opponent to clear the ball. Hieu Minh quickly took advantage of the opportunity to shoot into the roof of the net to seal the 3-0 victory.

Dinh Bac unexpectedly had to practice separately, Cong Phuong was confident he could compete with his senior.

Of course, the "small and light" defense of U.23 Laos is not a test for the aerial combat ability of U.23 Vietnam. However, it is clear that the height advantage will be the pioneer arrow, paving the way for coach Kim Sang-sik's students to find the net of any opponent, because U.23 Vietnam has enough conditions to turn high balls into weapons.

First of all, in the hands of coach Kim is the team with the best height in the history of U.23 Vietnam, with 8 players 1.8 m or taller: goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien (1.91 m), Nguyen Tan (1.8 m), Cao Van Binh (1.83 m), central defenders Le Van Ha (1.84 m), Pham Ly Duc (1.82 m), Nguyen Hieu Minh (1.84 m), and midfielders Nguyen Van Truong (1.82 m), Viktor Le (1.8 m).

Hieu Minh took advantage of his height of 1.84 m and his excellent jumping ability to score. Not only PVF-CAND's central defender, but Ly Duc (1.82 m) was also very strong in attacks thanks to his brave jumps and good positioning. Not to mention, Van Truong, Dinh Bac and Quoc Viet also worked hard to find opportunities with crosses.

Ly Duc (number 3) and Hieu Minh (number 4) are the central defenders over 1.8 m tall of U.23 Vietnam - PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

At the same time, U.23 Vietnam has extremely "flexible" crossers and free kickers. Among them, we cannot ignore captain Van Khang, who has good left-footed crosses, and is assigned to take corner kicks and direct free kicks. Dinh Bac, Van Truong, Thai Son, and Phi Hoang also cross the ball at a stable level. Good crossers combined with good aerial combat will create the perfect formula for U.23 Vietnam to "air attack" the opponent.

Overwhelm U.23 Cambodia?

Compared to U.23 Laos, the opponent U.23 Cambodia (facing U.23 Vietnam at 8pm on July 22) has a similar height. The team from the land of pagodas prefers players with modest physique but skillful and fast.

U.23 Cambodia can deploy the ball systematically, passing with more lines than U.23 Laos. However, the two teams have the same weakness in aerial balls. If they fall into a stalemate, U.23 Vietnam is capable of using its aerial ball advantage to overwhelm the opponent's goal.

In the training sessions, in addition to the ball control exercises and cross-line attacks that dominate the main color scheme, Coach Kim Sang-sik also teaches his students many fixed tactics. The corner kick arrangements of U.23 Vietnam now have clear intentions: who stands at the near post, who runs at the far post, who plays the role of "decoy" to lock down the opponent's central defender, who will run freely to find space... instead of "running around" like before.

However, honing how to make the aerial ball truly a key player is not an easy problem to solve for U.23 Vietnam. Each opponent has a different playing style, forcing Van Khang and his teammates to adjust to adapt. The match against U.23 Cambodia will bring Mr. Kim's students more lessons and "models" to analyze, in order to perfect their playing style for the journey of conquest.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hang-thu-cao-tren-18-m-cua-u23-viet-nam-khong-san-bong-bong-se-cuc-phi-185250720224046548.htm