Coach Kim Sang-sik faces his own 'gamble' with U.23 Vietnam

On the day the U.23 Vietnam team defeated Laos 3-0 relatively smoothly, most of coach Kim Sang-sik's players played at an average level or better. However, there is one position that still does not create peace of mind.

U.23 Vietnam is on the wrong wing

At Patriot Stadium on the afternoon of July 19, Coach Kim Sang-sik fielded his strongest lineup to win the opening match with the Vietnam U.23 team. Tran Trung Kien stood in goal, in front of him were three extremely "trustworthy" central defenders: Pham Ly Duc (middle), Nguyen Hieu Minh (right) and Nguyen Nhat Minh. The two full-back positions belonged to Nguyen Phi Hoang (left) and Vo Anh Quan. Nguyen Van Truong and Nguyen Thai Son were assigned to oversee the midfield. On the attack line, the three spearheads were Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Dinh Bac and Nguyen Quoc Viet.

U.23 Vietnam beat U.23 Laos, coach Kim Sang-sik cleverly avoided difficult questions

This selection of personnel is consistent with what happened during the training period at Ba Ria Stadium. This is the group of players who played a lot in the 2 practice matches with the Taiwan U.23 team and were often placed together in tactical training exercises. That is the reason why the Vietnam U.23 team played well and completely controlled the match. The Laos U.23 team almost did not create any opportunities towards goalkeeper Trung Kien's goal.

Anh Quan (number 20) was confused in many situations of attacking.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

In the first half, most of the opportunities were created on the right flank. Phi Hoang, a mainstay of Da Nang FC for many seasons, still played very impressively. He continuously had many situations where he penetrated deep into the field to cross, pass or pass back to coordinate with Van Khang and Van Truong. Phi Hoang's ability to "drill" also created space for left-sided center-back Nhat Minh to push up and put pressure. And from such a situation, Nhat Minh crossed the ball accurately for Van Khang to open the score of the match.

Looking at the opposite side, Anh Quan, the 2024-2025 first division champion, could not do the same. This defender's border climbing situations were not effective. He even lost the ball quite a lot after relatively "loose" passes. That was also part of the reason why right winger Quoc Viet, "King of the Youth League", almost disappeared in the first half. As a result, both were replaced at the beginning of the second half, giving way to Pham Minh Phuc and Viktor Le. In the remaining 45 minutes, Minh Phuc played a little more energetically than Anh Quan, but overall still did not make an impression when attacking.

Minh Phuc is also inexperienced.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Coach Kim Sang-sik took a risk

Although the Laos U.23 team is not strong, it is difficult to blame Anh Quan or Minh Phuc. They are both the least experienced players in the Vietnam U.23 team. This is also the first official tournament that Anh Quan and Minh Phuc have worn the Vietnam U.23 team jersey. Feeling nervous and confused... is normal.

Many people have also questioned why coach Kim Sang-sik removed Ho Van Cuong or Nguyen Hong Phuc from the right-back position. These two players are the champions of the 2022 and 2023 Southeast Asian U.23 tournaments, respectively, and have a lot of experience playing in the V-League.

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Coach Kim Sang-sik has his own reasons for choosing Anh Quan and Minh Phuc. They must have performed well in training sessions, played confidently against U.23 Taiwan and won the trust of the Korean coach. But in an official tournament, things will be very different, and the next opponents of the U.23 Vietnam team will be much more difficult. Therefore, coach Kim Sang-sik now faces the risk of not choosing at least one experienced player for the right-back position. And his task now is to help Anh Quan and Minh Phuc play to their inherent ability.

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-doi-mat-voi-canh-bac-cua-chinh-minh-o-u23-viet-nam-185250720103433303.htm