U.23 Vietnam - Cambodia (8pm today, live on FPT Play, VTV5): Semi-final tickets within reach

Although U.23 Vietnam only needs to draw with U.23 Cambodia at 8:00 p.m. today, July 22, to take the top spot in the group, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will certainly aim to win all 3 points.

U.23 Cambodia exposed weaknesses

Under Japanese coach Koji Gyotoku, the Cambodian U.23 team has made certain progress. They brought to Indonesia a strong squad with a number of national players such as Hav Soknet, Leng Nora, Phat Sokha, Im Vakhim and New Zealand-born midfielder Lucca Lim. The attacking ability and transition of the Cambodian U.23 team is also quite impressive.

Most likely Dinh Bac (right) will be on the bench to save energy for the semi-finals.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

However, this opponent's defense is quite weak, playing without concentration. The connection between the defenders is almost non-existent and they often fall into a passive position. This weakness was clearly revealed in the recent match against U.23 Laos. The young players of Laos coordinated freely, without encountering any resistance. In addition, the ability to counter high balls of U.23 Cambodia is also poor due to choosing the wrong landing point, weak one-on-one competition. If considering individual level, it is clear that U.23 Cambodia is rated lower than U.23 Vietnam.

Dinh Bac is fit enough to play against U.23 Cambodia, will coach Kim save his 'precious gem' for the semi-finals?

What is the mission for U.23 Vietnam?

The U.23 Vietnam team only needs 1 point, but will certainly approach the match with a desire to win to get all 3 points. That is within the ability of Khuat Van Khang and his teammates. The two goals of center back Hieu Minh in the 3-0 win over U.23 Laos showed that U.23 Vietnam is strong in aerial combat and we need to take advantage of this strength, especially when this is also the opponent's weakness.

With skillful, fast attacking players who have played together for a long time such as Van Khang, Van Truong, Dinh Bac, Quoc Viet..., the U.23 Vietnam team can also exploit the weak connection of the opponent's defense, through situations of passing and group coordination. Coach Kim Sang-sik also had careful preparation when he personally "marked" striker Quoc Viet, giving the former young HAGL star more practice in moving behind the opponent's defense to finish with one touch. This could be a move that U.23 Vietnam will perform a lot in the upcoming match.

In addition, coach Kim Sang-sik also needs to consider rotating the squad to ensure strength. In the victory over U.23 Laos, striker Dinh Bac had to practice separately due to signs of overload. He is an important factor of U.23 Vietnam, so he is likely to be given a rest in the match against U.23 Cambodia to achieve the best physical condition before the semi-final. At that time, the opportunity to lead the attack can be given to Quoc Viet, Ngoc My and Viktor Le. In the midfield, the central midfielder pair Van Truong - Thai Son also worked hard. Van Khang and Phi Hoang tirelessly attacked and defended. These are the pillars, having to play from the beginning to ensure control of the game for U.23 Vietnam, but they also need to reduce the number of playing minutes, and may be replaced early in the second half.

If he wins against U.23 Cambodia and the pillars are still rested, Mr. Kim will be considered to have achieved initial success. In case the reserve group such as Cong Phuong, Ngoc My, Xuan Bac... play well, it will be even more wonderful. Because then, U.23 Vietnam will have almost perfect preparation for the semi-final match: guaranteed force, the pillars maintain stable performance and the reserve players still have a good feeling to compete and are ready to create a surprise.

The statistics are also in favor of the U.23 Vietnam team at the moment. In the last 10 matches against U.23 Cambodia, U.23 Vietnam has a 100% winning rate, scoring 28 goals and conceding only 3. A victory with many beautiful, coordinated situations is what Vietnamese fans are waiting for.

Overall, U.23 Vietnam needs to maintain a good playing state, create excitement and maintain the pace for the players, especially the pillars. The mentality of playing to win will help the team maintain inspiration, instead of getting caught up in calculations. However, there still needs to be reasonable control of physical strength and form. This is what big teams often do well in short tournaments: control intensity, rotate players effectively, avoid putting too much effort into a not-so-important match. U.23 Vietnam is facing a great opportunity to enter the semi-finals, and the way they handle the match with Cambodia will clearly demonstrate their ambition to successfully defend the Southeast Asian throne.

Thanh Nien Newspaper will report live the match between U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Cambodia on thanhnien.vn.

Source : https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-campuchia-20-gio-hom-nay-truc-tiep-tren-fpt-play-vtv5-ve-ban-ket-trong-tam-tay-185250721220420279.htm