The disappointment of striker Quoc Viet (middle) after missing a chance to score against U23 Cambodia - Photo: ANH KHOA
On the evening of July 22, in the 2-1 victory over Cambodia, U23 Vietnam controlled the ball 67%, launched 19 shots but only 6 were on target. The accuracy rate was 26% - much lower than U23 Cambodia's 50%. Accordingly, they launched 4 shots and 3 were on target.
After the match against U23 Laos, coach Kim Sang Sik still has not improved the finishing ability of his strikers. The three main strikers Van Khang, Quoc Viet and Viktor Le wasted many opportunities, especially the main striker Quoc Viet.
In the first 45 minutes, Quoc Viet shot over the bar and headed the ball against the post in two good opportunities. In the second half, Quoc Viet had enough time to look around but shot the ball straight at goalkeeper Lyheng.
As this is the third consecutive U23 tournament, experience is something Quoc Viet has in abundance. Along with his desire to score, Quoc Viet still proved to be too "unlucky" in the 86 minutes he was on the field before being replaced by Le Van Thuan.
"U23 Vietnam wasted too many opportunities against Cambodia. I didn't perform well, even though in the training session before the match, coach Kim Sang Sik showed me how to run to break the offside trap and improve my movement on the field," Quoc Viet admitted.
But Mr. Kim did not only have a headache with Quoc Viet. The expected star Viktor Le also played ineffectively for the second consecutive match. There were two scoring opportunities in the first half but Viktor Le's shots were inaccurate.
In fact, U23 Vietnam had a difficult match against Cambodia. After Cambodia equalized 1-1 in the 62nd minute, Mr. Kim was forced to bring in two attackers Dinh Bac and Thanh Dat to replace striker Viktor Le and left-back Phi Hoang. And both players brought the 2-1 goal for U23 Vietnam.
Thanh Dat was the one who passed the ball to Dinh Bac to head the ball in. But before that, Thanh Dat also missed an unbelievable scoring opportunity in the 72nd minute. The ball was cleared by goalkeeper Lyheng after Van Khang's shot bounced to Thanh Dat at the 5m50 line. He volleyed as hard as he could... out despite no one marking him.
In the last two matches, Mr. Kim has fielded all 7 strikers he has: Quoc Viet, Dinh Bac, Viktor Le, Van Khang, Ngoc My, Thanh Dat and Le Van Thuan. But only Van Khang and Dinh Bac have "opened fire", even though both Laos and Cambodia are rated lower than U23 Vietnam.
But the problem is not just wasted opportunities, it is also that the trio of strikers in Mr. Kim's 3-4-3 formation has not shown cohesion in coordination.
Improving these two things is a difficult problem for coach Kim Sang Sik when U23 Vietnam only has two training sessions left before entering the semi-final match with U23 Philippines. With a squad consisting of many student players playing domestically or abroad, the Philippines is not too formidable.
But they played very pragmatically and defended very well. They have not let their opponents score in 3 group stage matches, the goal conceded by U23 Philippines came from an own goal in the 0-1 loss to host U23 Indonesia.
This forces the strikers of U23 Vietnam to play better to be able to penetrate the net of U23 Philippines. The U23 Vietnam team is facing challenges of increasing difficulty. Only when improving the effectiveness of the attack, especially from the strikers, can U23 Vietnam confidently aim for the championship goal.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tung-het-cac-chan-sut-hang-cong-u23-viet-nam-khong-ngung-gay-lo-lang-20250723231024529.htm
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