The Vietnam U23 team deserves to be called masters of interceptions.
Most recently, in the match against Saudi Arabia U23 , Vietnam U23 had fewer shots on goal than their opponent: we had 4 shots, while Saudi Arabia U23 had a total of 26 shots. Vietnam U23 had 2 shots on target, while Saudi Arabia U23 had 7 shots on target.
Vietnam U23 often have less possession than their opponents, but their attacking effectiveness is higher.
Photo: TED Tran
However, there are other very important statistics where the Vietnam U23 team is on par with and surpasses the Saudi Arabian team. Firstly, in one-on-one challenges, the Vietnam U23 players are equal to the Saudi Arabian U23 players, each side having 50% successful one-on-one challenges. As for intercepting crucial passes from the opponent, the Vietnam U23 team had 9 successful interceptions, while the corresponding number for the Saudi Arabian U23 team was 8.
In the match against U.23 Kyrgyzstan, U.23 Vietnam had a 50.5% success rate in one-on-one challenges, while U.23 Kyrgyzstan had a 49.5% success rate. We successfully intercepted 10 times, while the Central Asian team only successfully intercepted 7 times.
Previously, in the match against U23 Jordan, Coach Kim Sang-sik's team and the West Asian team each had a 50% success rate in one-on-one challenges. We successfully intercepted 10 times, while U23 Jordan only successfully intercepted 5 times. Their number of successful interceptions was only half the number of successful interceptions by the young Vietnamese players.
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The above statistics reflect that Coach Kim Sang-sik's team played far more effectively than their opponents. We often had less possession than our opponents, but when it came to intercepting the ball to thwart their attacks, the Vietnam U23 team usually succeeded. And of course, another very important statistic in all three group stage matches is that the Vietnam U23 team consistently scored more goals than each opponent we faced.
Coach Kim Sang-sik is an expert at trapping opponents who push forward, then forcing them to retaliate.
Photo: TED Tran
The UAE U.23 team (in white shirts) have reason to be worried about the Vietnam U.23 team ahead of the quarter-final match.
Photo: AFC
This is a detail that the UAE U23 team will surely have a headache thinking about when considering the Vietnam U23 team. Their strength lies in their technique, and they can utilize this to control the ball more than Vietnam U23 in the upcoming match. But even then, they can't be sure whether their increased ball control is a deliberate move or simply because we're allowing them to do so. Are we letting them hold possession, luring them to push forward?
Because whenever the Vietnam U23 team wants to regain possession for a counter-attack, Coach Kim Sang-sik's players will succeed. Furthermore, even if the UAE U23 team keeps possession, they may not be able to get close to the Vietnam U23 goal, as the Vietnam U23 defense is always strong enough to effectively intercept passes from the opponent's feet, preventing the ball from reaching the Vietnam U23 penalty area.
Even the Saudi Arabian U23 team, a representative of one of Asia's "big five" footballing nations (often compared to the other four: Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Australia), despite possessing superior ball control and shots on goal, couldn't penetrate the Vietnamese U23 net. Therefore, the UAE U23 team's concerns before facing Coach Kim Sang-sik's team are perhaps not unfounded!
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-so-huu-thong-so-khien-uae-phai-giat-minh-rat-am-tham-ma-cuc-ky-loi-hai-185260114034501462.htm
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