U.23 Vietnam had a difficult start, making the audience make a surprising prediction for the match against Malaysia: The winning rate is…

U.23 Vietnam and what NEEDS TO IMPROVE

At Rajamangala Stadium, U.23 Vietnam entered the match with the familiar 3-4-3 formation. Coach Kim Sang-sik introduced a new central midfield pair, Thai Son - Xuan Bac, when Van Truong was absent due to injury. Up front, Dinh Bac - Thanh Nhan - Quoc Viet were chosen. These are also the most discussed positions in this match.

Mr. Kim assigned specific roles to the 2 central midfielders: Thai Son dropped deep, taking on the role of a shuttle midfielder, creating conditions for Xuan Bac to comfortably attack and support the 3 strikers. Meanwhile, Thanh Nhan played on the right wing, Dinh Bac on the left wing, and Quoc Viet played as a striker. With that deployment, U.23 Vietnam mainly attacked on the left wing, where Dinh Bac and Van Khang continuously had dangerous breakthroughs. Even the left-sided central defender Nhat Minh also moved very high to support his teammates.

Laos makes remarkable progress, U.23 Vietnam 'escaped danger' thanks to Dinh Bac

However, this attack of U.23 Vietnam has not really been effective. The grass surface of Rajamangala Stadium is not of good quality, making it impossible for the players to stand firm to launch accurate crosses and passes. In addition, Quoc Viet does not have situations to run across to receive passes from his teammates. It is also difficult to blame the striker of Ninh Binh Club when for a long time, he has mainly played on the wing. Meanwhile, in the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament and the 2026 Asian U.23 qualifiers, the striker position of U.23 Vietnam was given to Dinh Bac.

U.23 Vietnam had a difficult start, making the audience make a surprising prediction for the match against Malaysia: The winning rate is…- Photo 1.

Dinh Bac (right) contributed a double for U.23 Vietnam in the opening match - PHOTO: NHAT THINH

In defense, U.23 Vietnam still made mistakes. Once again, Trung Kien had to pick the ball out of the net after a corner kick from the opponent. In the match against Cambodia at the U.23 Southeast Asia Championship 2025, we also lost in a similar scenario. In the second half, Trung Kien had to face the opponent's striker twice more, but fortunately the Lao striker's finishing was not sharp. The players were somewhat distracted and this is something that needs to be improved. On the field, Mr. Kim repeatedly signaled, asking his students to focus more.

BRIGHT SPOT DINH BAC

It is not difficult to point out that Dinh Bac was the best player in this match. He opened the score for U.23 VN with a smart run to create an interception point after a favorable cross from Minh Phuc. In the second half, the striker wearing the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) shirt dribbled the ball and skillfully finished with his left foot, helping U.23 VN take a 2-1 lead. Not stopping there, he repeatedly stirred up the U.23 Laos defense with his speed and technique. Dinh Bac was also ready to drop deep and move wide to create a connection point between the midfield and the strikers. In the 75th minute, he continued to impress with a smart direct free kick, but unfortunately the ball missed the post by a hair's breadth.

U.23 Vietnam had a difficult start, making the audience make a surprising prediction for the match against Malaysia: The winning rate is…- Photo 2.

Looking at the stalemate at many times and the unfortunate missed chances, it is hard to imagine how U.23 Vietnam would have won Laos without Dinh Bac on the field. According to the original schedule, the striker born in 2004 was only allowed to join the team on December 4, having to miss the match against Laos. The reason was that he had to play with CAHN Club at Buriram United to compete in the Southeast Asia Cup C1. However, Dinh Bac personally spoke to coach Alexandre Polking, expressing his desire to join U.23 Vietnam early and not miss any matches. He understands that SEA Games always has great significance for Vietnamese fans. Finally, Mr. Polking accepted this request so that we could see Dinh Bac shine brightly in his first match at the SEA Games. Dinh Bac's maturity was also "rewarded" by Mr. Kim by assigning him the role of vice-captain.

Coach Kim Sang-sik is not satisfied with the opening match, the Laos coach will review Dinh Bac's goal.

Dinh Bac's explosive performance helped U.23 Vietnam complete the goal of winning all 3 points. However, to realize the dream of SEA Games 33 gold medal, Mr. Kim's students need to bring more uniformity, balance, improve their ability to connect and accuracy in decisive handling. "The Golden Star Warriors" will make timely adjustments to continue the winning momentum.

Thanh Nien Newspaper conducted a poll of readers to predict the match between U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Malaysia at 4 p.m. on December 11. Up to this point, about 79% of readers participating in the vote predicted U.23 Vietnam to win. 9% predicted a draw and 12% predicted a loss. Hopefully, Mr. Kim and his team will realize their dream of winning.