Coach Hoang Anh Tuan: "U22 Vietnam should not overestimate the victory over U22 China"

(Dan Tri) - Coach Hoang Anh Tuan highly appreciated the significance of the Panda Cup training tournament that U22 Vietnam just experienced. But according to Mr. Tuan, from friendly tournaments to official tournaments is still a long way.

Ahead of the Vietnam U22 team are the 33rd SEA Games taking place in December this year and the final round of the U23 Asian Cup starting in January 2026. These are two different tournaments in both nature and expertise.

Therefore, coach Hoang Anh Tuan suggested that U22 Vietnam needs to have different calculations for these two tournaments, from personnel to the main playing style of the whole team in each tournament. Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan himself is the most recent coach of the U22 Vietnam team to participate in the final round of the Asian tournament, so Mr. Tuan has experience in this playground.

This morning (November 19), former coach of Vietnam U22 team, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan, had an interview with Dan Tri reporter.

Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan (right), former coach of Vietnam U22 team (Photo: Do ​​Minh Quan).

Portrait of Vietnam U22 team seen from Panda Cup

How do you evaluate the performance of the Vietnam U22 team at the Panda Cup 2025, where we beat China U22, only losing by a narrow margin to Korea U22 and Uzbekistan U22?

- First of all, I affirm that tournaments like this are very beneficial for the U22 Vietnam team. Panda Cup helps young players have the opportunity to compete with strong teams, practice their playing style, and increase their experience and courage.

As for the results, after all, they are just the results of friendly matches. We are not sure what kind of forces our opponents in friendly tournaments like this use, whether they are at their strongest. We also do not know what their peak form is.

For example, the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 China. We were happy because we won, but from a professional perspective, looking at the whole picture, they were the team that dominated the field and controlled the match, while we were not able to control this.

Could you elaborate on the nature of such matches, sir?

- If we had just defeated U22 China and surpassed them in ball control and game control, we could have immediately affirmed that U22 Vietnam was stronger than them. But objectively speaking, we have not done it and are overestimating this.

In terms of nature, the above match is similar to Saudi Arabia's 2-1 win over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. The stronger team sometimes still loses because of some situations where the opponent is brilliant. Therefore, it is not only through one or a few matches that we can immediately affirm the level of a team.

U22 Vietnam played resiliently against strong teams at Panda Cup 2025 (Photo: VFF).

In 2018, when I was in charge, the Vietnamese youth team drew with Mexico and only lost by a narrow margin to Uzbekistan. But even at that time, I never thought that our football was as strong as theirs.

These matches are not to compare levels, but mainly to help us know what we need to prepare for the important tournaments we are aiming for. Here, I am glad that the young players are very resilient, showing a fearless mentality against strong teams like U22 Korea, Uzbekistan and U22 China.

Two different leagues, two different ways of playing

So with this force, where will we be at SEA Games 33 and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship?

- In the SEA Games arena, U22 Vietnam will be a candidate for the championship in the top group. This was demonstrated by our championship of the U23 Southeast Asia tournament in July. The young force of Vietnamese football is still very strong in the region.

On the contrary, at the U23 Asian Cup, U22 Vietnam may face many difficulties. This was also shown through the way we were not too dominant in the U23 Asian Cup qualifying round (early September). Not to mention, the opponents in the continental cup finals are much stronger than the opponents in the qualifying round.

The important thing is how we will prepare our forces and main playing style in the two different tournaments mentioned above. Two different tournaments, with different natures, U22 Vietnam can choose two different playing styles. Of course, the head coach will be the one who knows this best.

Coach Kim Sang Sik needs to prepare different players and playing styles for two different tournaments including the SEA Games and the AFC U23 Championship (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

He will determine the goals, then choose the main playing style for U22 Vietnam in each tournament. Through choosing the main playing style, the head coach will have the right personnel choice for each tournament. It is not impossible that the force in the SEA Games and in the U23 Asian Cup will not be the same, depending on Mr. Kim Sang Sik's point of view.

Will the consecutive SEA Games 33 (Vietnam U22 team will compete from December 4 to 18) and the AFC U23 Championship (from January 6 to 24, 2026) affect the physical strength of Vietnam U22 players?

- I think it doesn't affect anything! Firstly, V-League has not yet entered the most stressful stage, this tournament is not even halfway through. Domestic players have only played about ten matches each, not to the point of overload.

Second, the total number of matches in both upcoming tournaments, including the SEA Games and the AFC U23 Championship, is not large. Vietnam U22 will only play a maximum of 4 matches in the SEA Games (including two group stage matches, the semi-final match and the medal match). We can play about 4-5 more matches in the AFC U23 Championship (if we reach the quarter-finals or semi-finals).

In total, U22 Vietnam will play no more than 10 matches in both tournaments, within two months (from the beginning of December this year to the end of January 2026). Before that, we had a few days off when V-League was suspended. Therefore, this schedule cannot overload the players.

Don't be pressured by the miracle of "White Snow in Changzhou"

Once U22 Vietnam prepares to participate in important tournaments, there will always be comparisons with the team of the same age that created the miracle of "White Snow Changzhou" in 2018. How do you evaluate the current generation with the 2018 squad, sir?

- The current players have potential and are even. However, if compared to the 2018 squad, it is difficult for any generation to compare to that year's squad. First, that year, U22 Vietnam had individuals who made a difference, especially Quang Hai.

In 2018, the U22 Vietnam squad is a combination of 3 different generations, not just one, so it is even more difficult for the young players in the following years to compare their strength with the squad of 7 years ago. The 2018 squad has Duy Manh, Duc Huy from the oldest generation, Cong Phuong, Van Toan, Bui Tien Dung, Van Thanh from the second generation, then comes the generation of Quang Hai, Dinh Trong, Duc Chinh, Doan Van Hau...

The current U22 Vietnam team should not be haunted by the success of the team that reached the final of the 2018 U23 Asian Cup (Photo: Do ​​Minh Quan).

A young team is a collection of 3 different generations, and has competed in many different international tournaments right before entering the 2018 U23 Asian Cup, surely that team must be different from the remaining teams in the following years.

That is, the current U22 Vietnam team is no longer the same as the team that shocked Asia 7 years ago?

- As I said, we are strong enough to attack the 33rd SEA Games championship. As for the U23 Asian Cup, we must carefully consider our playing style so that we can surprise our opponents.

Another advantage of the squad that reached the final of the 2018 AFC U23 Championship is that the opponents did not know who we were. But now, they play against us with a more cautious attitude.

In 2018, U23 Vietnam had a squad that, in my opinion, was the "golden generation" of Vietnamese football, the strongest and most balanced squad of Vietnamese football in the past ten years. This squad later won two AFF Cup championships and two SEA Games championships. For now, we will try to surprise with different tactical options, based on the assessment and analysis of the opponent.

There is still enough time for U22 Vietnam. In addition, as I mentioned, we can completely aim to use two different playing styles, two personnel diagrams for two different tournaments, including SEA Games and U23 Asia. The domestic tournament still has enough personnel for coach Kim Sang Sik to build a suitable force for each tournament.

Thank you for the conversation!

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-hoang-anh-tuan-u22-viet-nam-dung-de-cao-tran-thang-u22-trung-quoc-20251119150501200.htm