Vietnam U23 still has a 'secret weapon' to overcome China U23 in the semi-finals.

Before the semi-finals, the Vietnam U23 team still had some key players and some special skills that hadn't been fully utilized in previous matches. These could be "reserved" for the decisive stage of the tournament.

Vietnam U23 team still has "reserves" to play.

Since the start of the tournament, the Vietnam U23 team has scored from corner kicks and penalty kicks. However, also related to set pieces, Coach Kim Sang-sik's team has yet to score from a free kick that directly targets the opponent's goal.

Vietnam U23 still has a secret weapon in set pieces.

Photo: TED Tran

Firstly, the reason we haven't scored from free kicks is because, since the beginning of the tournament, the Vietnam U23 team has had very few opportunities to take direct free kicks near the opponent's penalty area with favorable shooting angles.

Secondly, Coach Kim Sang-sik's team has never been put in a position where they have to chase the game and find a way to score at all costs. Therefore, the U23 Vietnam players don't necessarily need to "lure" and "hunt" for direct free kicks near the opponent's penalty area, with a straight shooting angle, by having their attacking players dribble the ball around in front of the area, luring the opponent into committing fouls.

Dinh Bac created the opportunity for Le Phat to head the ball into the net against the UAE U.23 team.

China's U23 team (in red) has a habit of playing with a low defensive line.

Photo: AFC

But against China U23 in the semi-final, Vietnam U23 might employ that tactic. China U23 usually plays with a deep defensive line. This could make it difficult for Vietnam U23 to coordinate and break through the defense of the team from the most populous country. However, against their deep defense, Vietnam U23's attacking players will have the opportunity to dribble close to China U23's penalty area, easily leading to fouls if they are not alert.

At that time, U.23 Vietnam's free-kick specialists such as Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Dinh Bac, and Nguyen Thanh Nhan will have the opportunity to showcase their free-kick skills. Among them, Khuat Van Khang once scored a beautiful free-kick goal against U.23 Malaysia at the 2024 U.23 Asian Championship. And Thanh Nhan scored against U.23 Philippines in the semi-finals of the SEA Games 33 last December.

Coach Kim Sang-sik: 'I believe that Vietnamese football has reached a very high standard'

Factors that trigger explosive growth

These are the trump cards that the Vietnam U23 team has kept hidden since the beginning of the tournament, and they may be used in the most crucial matches in the coming days. Regarding personnel, coach Kim Sang-sik still has some players who haven't fully showcased their quality in recent days, ready to explode in the semi-final.

Coach Kim Sang-sik still has some players whose potential hasn't been fully utilized.

Photo: AFC

This is the case with striker Thanh Nhàn, who is steadily improving his form after an injury sustained just before this year's tournament. Thanh Nhàn played a few minutes at the end of the group stage match against U23 Saudi Arabia on January 12th. He then played several minutes in the quarter-final match against U23 UAE on January 16th. This means that coach Kim Sang-sik is gradually giving the player more playing time, hoping he will reach peak form for our last two matches in the tournament. On a day when he's at his best, Thanh Nhàn is very quick and skillful, able to penetrate the Chinese defense and unleash powerful shots.

Another player who is very good at creating breakthroughs but didn't appear in Vietnam U23's last two matches is attacking midfielder Le Van Thuan. It's possible that Coach Kim didn't use Van Thuan against Saudi Arabia U23 and UAE U23 because the opponents had defenders who were very good at tackling and played a physically strong game.

Against the Chinese U23 team, their players don't play in a physically demanding style like the Saudi Arabian and UAE U23 teams, so Van Thuan will have more opportunities to showcase his skills. Like Thanh Nhan, Van Thuan is quick, skillful, and adept at maneuvering in tight spaces, capable of punishing the Chinese U23 defense when they let their guard down.

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Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-van-con-tuyet-chieu-de-vuot-qua-u23-trung-quoc-o-ban-ket-185260118020739985.htm