Vietnam U19: What changes are needed to easily beat Myanmar U19?

We need to win...

Three points in their opening match give the Vietnam U19 team a favorable psychological advantage for the upcoming games. With the format only allowing the top three teams in each group and the best-performing second-placed team to advance to the semi-finals, any mistake, however small, could be costly.

Therefore, the match against U19 Myanmar is like an early final for Coach Yutaka Ikeuchi's team. If they don't win, their chances of competing for a place in the next round will almost certainly be over. But even a minimal victory might not guarantee U19 Vietnam an advantage.

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Vietnam U19 (in red jerseys) need a win against Myanmar U19.

The reason lies in the results of the first round of matches. U19 Indonesia defeated U19 Myanmar 3-0, and it is highly likely that the home team could create an even larger gap when they face U19 Timor Leste. This makes the goal difference race extremely important.

In other words, the Vietnam U19 team not only needs 3 points but also needs to aim for a resounding victory if they want to compete for the top spot in the group or at least the best second-place finish to qualify for the semi-finals.

What changes does the Vietnam U19 team need?

The objective of winning is clear, but to achieve it, the Vietnam U19 team needs to improve in many areas compared to their performance against Timor Leste U19.

First, let's talk about the attack. In the opening match, most of Vietnam U19's dangerous opportunities stemmed from Cong Hau's positioning and finishing ability. Having a striker who can score goals is a positive sign, but over-reliance on one individual is a worrying issue.

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But things will need to be different.

The Myanmar U19 team will certainly study Công Hậu carefully and look for ways to limit him. Therefore, attacking options from the second line, midfielders' runs, and coordinated attacks on both flanks need to be utilized more to create variety.

Furthermore, the ability to capitalize on opportunities is also a problem; with more accuracy, the Vietnam U19 team could have scored more than three goals against Timor Leste. Given that goal difference could determine qualification, wasting opportunities is unacceptable.

Another area that needs improvement for the Vietnam U19 team is the speed of ball circulation. Against Timor Leste, at times the players in red shirts took too many touches, slowing down the attack and allowing the opponent to retreat deep into defense.

Finally, regarding the defense, despite keeping a clean sheet in their opening match, the flanks of the Vietnam U19 team still left quite a few gaps, allowing the opponent to exploit them. Myanmar certainly possesses faster players and better counter-attacking abilities than Timor Leste, so the concentration of the defense needs to be significantly increased.

If they can overcome those limitations, the Vietnam U19 team can absolutely defeat the Myanmar U19 team, perhaps even with a relatively easy victory. Otherwise, a place in the semi-finals will be very far away for Yutaka Ikeuchi's team.