U.23 Vietnam is having a 'successor' mentality: Will it flourish in the Southeast Asian playground?

The Vietnamese team has achieved many successes thanks to its 3-center-back formation and disciplined counter-attacking style. Will coach Kim Sang-sik and his team be able to do the same in the upcoming 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament?

DEFENSIVE FULLNESS

Like the national team, the U.23 Vietnam team possesses an abundant and quality central defender force that has been tested through many international youth tournaments as well as the national championship. Pham Ly Duc is a pillar of HAGL in the V-League, and has made his debut for the Vietnam national team. Nguyen Nhat Minh is increasingly mature and confident under the guidance of coach Chu Dinh Nghiem, a person who is good at raising young players. Le Van Ha, Nguyen Duc Anh (Hanoi Club) or Dang Tuan Phong ( Viettel The Cong Club) are starting to gain the trust of the coaches and are playing more and making more progress. In addition, Nguyen Hieu Minh (PVF-CAND Club) has always played extremely consistently in the first division. Thanks to that, coach Kim Sang-sik has more options to build a trio of central defenders.

Van Khang and Dinh Bac (from left to right) have experience playing for the national team and are likely to take on the role of leading the U.23 Vietnam team in the upcoming tournament.

PHOTO: VFF

Just like Coach Kim, as well as Mr. Park Hang-seo or Philippe Troussier did in the national team, the defense will be the foundation of the squad, the support to help the front lines confidently organize counterattacks. Especially, in the context of the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament with a dense match schedule, building a solid defense to minimize mistakes and avoid wasting energy is a very practical and effective solution. Another thing, the U.23 Vietnam team also owns 2 excellent goalkeepers, Tran Trung Kien (HAGL) and Cao Van Binh (SLNA).

U.23 Vietnam c WAIT FOR THE "WINGS" TO FLY

When the names in the defense are creating peace of mind, fans expect the players in the front line to be sharp and cunning enough to explode. Names like Khuat Van Khang (Viettel The Cong Club), Nguyen Ngoc My (Thanh Hoa), Nguyen Quoc Viet (Ninh Binh), Nguyen Phi Hoang (Da Nang), Nguyen Thanh Nhan (PVF-CAND) and especially Nguyen Dinh Bac ( Hanoi Police) are completely capable of doing that. These are all factors that will play regularly in the 2024-2025 season (except Dinh Bac who has just returned from injury) and perform well, so they are given opportunities. The flexible mobility of the players in the attack line of the U.23 Vietnam team is also a formidable "weapon". In CFA China Team 2025, under the leadership of assistant Dinh Hong Vinh, the "trident" in the front line often swap positions, creating chaos and causing certain difficulties for the defense of strong teams such as Korea, Uzbekistan and China.

Coach Kim Sang-sik will almost certainly apply a defensive 3-4-3 or 5-4-1 formation, while making the most of transitions thanks to wingers and midfielders with the ability to quickly circulate the ball like Thai Son, Van Truong or Viktor Le.

Another coincidence with the national team is that U.23 Vietnam currently does not have a true center forward. The strikers called up all tend to drift to the wing or play as an attacking midfielder, such as Thanh Nhan, Quoc Viet, Dang Duong, Dinh Bac... That forces coach Kim to consider flexible personnel options, such as pushing an attacking midfielder to play as a "false 9" or rotating between wingers to exploit the gaps exposed by the opponent's defense. This is also a problem that Mr. Kim has dealt with in the national team when Xuan Son was injured and Tien Linh was not in the best form. Therefore, the U.23 Vietnam team does not need to worry too much about this issue.

The goal of the U.23 Vietnam team in the upcoming tournament is to successfully defend the championship title. In this journey, coach Kim and his team need to prepare for confrontations with strong teams such as U.23 Indonesia (host), Thailand and Malaysia. These are teams with good technique, impressive physique and are not afraid to play in control. In such circumstances, a solid defense system, combined with sharp counterattacks will be the most reasonable strategy.

In the long term, Mr. Kim's application of a similar style between the U.23 team and the national team also helps create synchronization. When young players are trained with a familiar tactical model, they will easily integrate when promoted to the national team. This helps significantly shorten the adaptation time, while creating a systematic strategic inheritance.

In addition, the current U.23 Vietnam team also has many individuals who have been called up to the national team by Coach Kim such as Van Khang, Trung Kien, Ly Duc... These are important links in transmitting the playing style and football philosophy from the highest level to the youth team. If he can take advantage of this inheritance, Mr. Kim will not only help U.23 Vietnam defend the championship, but also create a foundation for a new generation to soon become pillars of the national team.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-dang-co-tinh-ke-thua-se-thang-hoa-o-san-choi-dong-nam-a-185250626233026701.htm