U.23 Vietnam 'learns a lot in a day's journey', taking the field near midnight in UAE

On the night of October 9, at the 321 Club stadium in Abu Dhabi (UAE), the U.23 Vietnam team had a friendly match in the first leg, with a clear advantage over U.23 Qatar.

U.23 Vietnam plays against a very good blue team

That was the match where interim coach Dinh Hong Vinh was without 8 familiar faces who were focusing on the Vietnamese team such as Van Khang, Dinh Bac, Thanh Nhan, Trung Kien, Phi Hoang, Nhat Minh, Hieu Minh, Xuan Bac. In return, the names that had not played much before in the 2 official tournaments U.23 Southeast Asia 2025 and U.23 Asia 2026 qualifiers, when given the opportunity, responded very well. In the first half, when Van Ha, Quoc Cuong, Bao Long, Cong Phuong, Thanh Dat were arranged to start, they created a game that overwhelmed the opponent who entered the semi-finals in 2016, won the bronze medal in 2018 and participated in the finals of the U.23 Asia 6 times in a row. The numbers were very impressive, showing that U.23 Vietnam had superior ball control (63% compared to 37%), the number of shots on target was also double (4 compared to 2), creating 5 scoring opportunities compared to only 2 of Qatar.

U.23 Vietnam is improving itself, especially the attack line in UAE.

PHOTO: VFF

In the second half, when U.23 Vietnam made many changes to allow the remaining players to enter the field, the game was still in our favor, even after conceding a goal in the 75th minute from a set piece. Unfortunately, many opportunities were created, including two very "delicious" situations by Van Thuan, but they were not successfully exploited. Overall, U.23 Vietnam may have lost in terms of score (0-1) but they met the requirements in terms of playing style, creating dominance over a strong opponent, who will also participate in the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship.

Determined to win the rematch

Yesterday (October 10), interim coach Dinh Hong Vinh gave the majority of players a break, while the rest worked out at the hotel. The team will have two days to prepare and recover before entering the "return" friendly match with U.23 Qatar at 10 p.m. (7 p.m. local time) on October 13. It is expected that the coaching staff will give starting opportunities to players who came in later in the previous match, such as Vietnamese-American midfielder Tran Nam Trung, Nguyen Vadim, Nam Hai, Van Thuan, Thai Son, Minh Phuc, Long Vu, and Quang Kiet. This can be considered a valuable opportunity for these aspiring players to "score points" in the eyes of interim coach Dinh Hong Vinh and of course coach Kim Sang-sik. Mr. Kim is focusing on the Vietnamese team playing two matches against Nepal in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, but still continuously and fully updates the statistics and performances of his young players.

The requirements are very clear, U.23 Vietnam must continue to demonstrate an imposing style of play to block Qatar's intention to deploy the ball - something we did very well in the U.23 Asian qualifiers. The rate of balls entering our penalty area in the previous match was quite good with 10 passes (6 successful), 6 crosses from the side (3 accurate situations). It can be seen that U.23 Vietnam is quite balanced in attacking in the middle and on the wings. The problem is that the coaching staff wants the players to improve their numbers and especially their efficiency. In fact, U.23 Vietnam is still not calm enough to perfectly and accurately take advantage of the opportunities created. The upcoming return match will be an opportunity for the strikers to "adjust" their aiming angle to be more accurate and reasonable, so that U.23 Vietnam can improve themselves towards the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 U.23 Asian Cup.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-di-mot-ngay-dang-hoc-mot-sang-khon-ra-san-gan-nua-dem-tai-uae-185251010211212036.htm