Panda Cup 2025: U22 Vietnam aims for victory

tuyển U22 Việt Nam - Ảnh 1. — Vietnam U22 team (left) aims for victory against Uzbekistan U22 - Photo: SINA

Meeting U22 Uzbekistan is expected to be a big challenge, but also an opportunity for the U22 Vietnam team to test the squad and perfect their playing style to aim for upcoming goals.

U22 Uzbekistan is young but formidable

At the CFA Team China 2025 Friendly Tournament in March in China, the Vietnam U22 team drew 0-0 with Uzbekistan U22. Midfielder Viktor Le even had a chance to score.

But in this rematch, while U22 Vietnam gathered the strongest force to prepare for SEA Games 33, U22 Uzbekistan only brought to China players aged 18-20. Specifically, captain center back Dilshod Abdullaev (1.88m tall) is only 19 years old. That is the reason U22 Uzbekistan lost 0-2 to U22 Korea in the opening match of Panda Cup 2025.

Unlike the previous U22 generation, this generation of U20 Uzbekistan players does not have an impressive physique. Apart from captain Dilshod Abdullaev, the remaining players are not much taller than the U22 Vietnam players. Abdugafur Khaydarov - the striker who is valued the highest (350,000 euros) by transfermarkt in the U22 Uzbekistan squad - is only 1.75m tall. However, Khaydarov's technique and football skills are quite impressive.

Competition experience is the biggest limitation of Uzbekistan's young players in the confrontation with U22 Vietnam. However, with the quality of youth training emerging as a phenomenon in Asia, U22 Uzbekistan is still an opponent that cannot be underestimated.

U22 Vietnam confident in the match

The 1-0 victory over U22 China in the opening match was a mental boost for acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh and his team before the match against U22 Uzbekistan.

On the morning of November 14, the whole team held a meeting to review experiences before going to the training field in the afternoon of the same day. At the meeting, the coaching staff analyzed detailed data from the victory over U22 China and learned lessons for the players through specific situations via video .

Coach Dinh Hong Vinh asked the whole team to continue to improve their ball control, increase their transition speed and improve their efficiency in the final decisive phases. "U22 Uzbekistan is a strong opponent, with good organization and technical playing style. Therefore, the whole team must prepare more carefully to maintain the initiative," Mr. Dinh Hong Vinh emphasized to his students.

Compared to the match against U22 China, coach Dinh Hong Vinh will likely make many changes to the starting lineup for the match against U22 Uzbekistan. This is to help him continue to test the performance of other players. At the same time, he will prepare for different options for each opponent and each specific time.

Goalkeeper Cao Van Binh played excellently in the opening match, but goalkeeper Trung Kien also needs to play against U22 Uzbekistan to prove his worth. Dinh Bac and Viktor Le, who sat in the stands to rest after the first match, can also be arranged by coach Dinh Hong Vinh to start in the attack in this match.

But regardless of the personnel changes, the U22 Vietnam players are required to still proactively apply pressure, maintain team distance and know how to control the game with reasonable rotations before taking advantage of the opponent's mistakes to win.

That is the consistent playing style that coach Kim Sang Sik has built for the Vietnam U22 team in recent times, which performed well in the victory over China U22 and needs to be further improved at the Panda Cup 2025 before entering the SEA Games 33 campaign in Thailand next month.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/panda-cup-2025-u22-viet-nam-huong-den-chien-thang-20251115110839194.htm