A challenge for Vietnam U23

Vietnam U23 - Photo 1.

The U23 Vietnam players need to make the most of their opportunities against U23 Philippines - Photo: ANH KHOA

Despite being underestimated, the Philippines U23 team made history by reaching the semi-finals of a Southeast Asian U23 tournament for the first time.

"The strength of the Philippines U23 team lies in their counter-attacking defense, with striker Otu Banatao and midfielder Javier Mariona being very dangerous. The Vietnamese U23 defenders need to be very focused to neutralize these two players," coach Kim Sang Sik commented on the opponent.

A formidable opponent

Placed in a tough Group A, the Philippines U23 team impressively overcame Malaysia U23 to secure second place behind host Indonesia U23, earning a spot in the semi-finals. Under the guidance of coach Garrath McPherson, despite having 14 student players, the Philippines U23 team proved to be a formidable opponent.

Specifically, despite controlling possession for 70% of the time, the Malaysian U23 team was still unable to break through the solid and disciplined defense of the Philippine U23 team. They subsequently paid the price with two goals conceded after two perfectly executed counter-attacks from their opponents.

Even the Indonesian U23 team had to sweat to overcome the Philippine U23 team 1-0 thanks to an own goal by center-back Rosquillo.

Three players who play a crucial role in the counter-attacking style of the Philippines U23 team are central midfielder John Lucero (born in England and currently playing in Thailand), attacking midfielder Javier Mariona (currently playing in the USA), and striker Otu Banatao (Old Dominion University, USA).

With two goals against U23 Malaysia, Otu Banatao has shown he will pose a significant threat to the U23 Vietnam defense.

Against the weaker U23 Cambodia team, the U23 Vietnam defense conceded a goal from a header following a corner kick. Now, facing the physically strong U23 Philippines team with their dangerous aerial game, the U23 Vietnam defense will need to be even more focused.

Especially considering that the Vietnam U23 team may not have its strongest defense due to center-back Pham Ly Duc having an ankle problem and needing further monitoring during training on the evening of July 24th.

Waiting to see the true appearance of the Vietnam U23 team.

Despite winning all their matches against U23 Laos and Cambodia to reach the semi-finals as group winners, the Vietnamese U23 team's playing style still leaves many concerns for experts and fans. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team still struggles to score goals, especially the attacking line, despite creating numerous scoring opportunities.

Unlike the U23 teams of Laos or Cambodia, which play a solid, disciplined style, the Philippines are expected to continue their defensive counter-attacking game. This requires the U23 Vietnam team to not only build a strong defense but also to make efforts in attacking play and capitalize on scoring opportunities.

Since the start of the tournament, the Vietnam U23 team has almost exclusively played on one wing. And both goals resulting from Vietnam U23's coordinated attacks originated from the left wing. In the win against Laos U23, left-sided center-back Nhat Minh joined the attack and passed to Khuat Van Khang, who scored. Following that, Thanh Dat passed to Dinh Bac, who headed the ball in the win against Cambodia U23.

Therefore, if the Philippines figure out their tactics, the Vietnam U23 team needs to have a backup plan or deploy a more diverse attacking strategy.

Even scoring from set pieces (the center-backs have scored 3 goals from corner kicks) is not easy to implement against the U23 Philippines, who have thoroughly studied Vietnam's playing style.

"I have a plan to prevent set-piece situations from Vietnam U23. Philippines U23 also have players who are good in aerial duels. Let's wait and see how we neutralize that weapon of Vietnam U23," coach Garrath McPherson affirmed.

Compared to previous friendly matches and training games, coach Kim Sang Sik deployed a rather unusual attacking lineup in both group stage matches. Dinh Bac was sometimes deployed as a central striker, a position not his forte. Viktor Le also played as a central striker instead of his usual left wing. Quoc Viet was moved to the right wing instead of playing as a central striker.

The goal that Dinh Bac scored in the victory against U23 Cambodia only came when he was playing as a left winger. Hopefully, that was a tactic kept secret by coach Kim Sang Sik. And now it's time for Coach Kim to field the strongest U23 Vietnam team to open the door to the championship goal.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thu-thach-cho-u23-viet-nam-20250725105823882.htm