Cao Van Binh's 'Wall'
Goalkeeper Cao Văn Bình had been waiting to be the starting goalkeeper for the Vietnam U23 team for... 8 months, playing 16 grueling matches. Văn Bình is good, but because Trần Trung Kiên is outstanding, coach Kim Sang-sik has no reason to change him.
Van Binh's opportunity only came in the third-place match. It was a game where the Vietnam U23 team still strived for victory, but clearly, when winning or losing was no longer a matter of life or death, Coach Kim could be more relaxed in trusting new players.
Of course, changing goalkeepers is rare in football. Van Binh was chosen to play against a strong team like South Korea's U23 team because coach Kim Sang-sik placed his trust in his player. He is a gem that, if polished properly, could absolutely become a "steel wall" in goal.
Coach Kim Sang-sik pays tribute to the Vietnam U23 team after their victory, with Cao Van Binh named Man of the Match.
Hero Cao Van Binh
PHOTO: TED TRAN TV
Many players have proven that coach Kim Sang-sik's faith in them was well-placed. Van Binh is no exception, delivering a perfect 10 performance against South Korea U23. The young South Korean team completely dominated, especially in the two extra time periods with a numerical advantage (Dinh Bac received a red card in the 87th minute), as evidenced by their 32 shots on goal (12 of which were on target). However, Van Binh only conceded 2 goals, both from unavoidable situations where the opponent's shots were either too close or too difficult to save.
The young goalkeeper of SLNA made 7 saves in this match (according to statistics from the Asian Football Confederation), becoming one of the best goalkeeper performances of this year's tournament. If Trung Kien frustrated the Saudi Arabian U23 strikers in the group stage with 6 saves, clearly Van Binh was no less impressive.
Besides making excellent saves, Van Binh also made timely interventions and confidently caught high balls (handling most of his interventions well) to neutralize one of Asia's best aerial teams. Van Binh's performance was truly incredible, considering this was his first appearance at this year's Asian tournament.
In the penalty shootout, Van Binh continued to play the hero, successfully saving Bae Hyun-seo's penalty to lead Vietnam U23 to the bronze medal after a 7-6 victory. He was awarded 8.9 points by Soccerway , the highest score on the field.
Vietnam U.23 won the bronze medal in the final.
PHOTO: TED TRAN TV
Before successfully saving the penalty, Van Binh also correctly predicted the direction of 4 out of 6 shots from the South Korean U.23 players, demonstrating his keen ability to read the direction of shots by observing the positioning of his opponents.
Potential seeds
Cao Van Binh's brilliant performance was no accident.
The goalkeeper, born in 2005, has played 9 matches for the Vietnam U.20 and U.22 teams. His best tournament was the 2023 AFC U.20 Championship finals, where the 20-year-old helped Vietnam U.20 defeat Australia U.20 (1-0) and Qatar U.20 (2-1).
Among them, Van Binh is a reliable "tower" with a series of impressive saves and intelligent positioning. Thanks to his composure, Van Binh has always played at a higher level than his age. He played for the Vietnam U.20 team at the age of 18, then shone for the Vietnam U.23 team when he had just turned 21.
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At SLNA this season, Van Binh is becoming a "phenomenon". Van Binh was promoted to the first team when his senior teammate Nguyen Van Viet moved to The Cong Viettel . SLNA's tradition of using young players has paved the way for talented young players, and Van Binh is a prime example. From there, Van Binh shone brightly with many impressive saves, helping the young SLNA team reach ninth place after 11 rounds.
"Cao Văn Bình is a very promising goalkeeper. Besides his ability, he also has good height (1.83 m). If he gets more playing time and experience, Văn Bình will be a good goalkeeper," SLNA coach Phan Như Thuật praised his player.
Trung Kien is good, but Van Binh is equally talented. At 21 years old, the SLNA goalkeeper is eligible to play in the 34th SEA Games (2027) and the 2028 U.23 Asian Championship. Van Binh's time is coming, with a smooth start from today.
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Thanhnien.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-hung-cao-van-binh-khien-u23-han-quoc-khoc-rong-tai-nang-chang-kem-trung-kien-18526012402150905.htm
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