U22 Vietnam vs U22 Laos: What will Kim Sang-sik and his team do against the "double-decker bus" defensive style?

The Vietnam U22 team aims for a big win in the opening match of SEA Games 33 against Laos. (Photo: VFF)

At 4:00 p.m. on December 3, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will embark on the "gold hunt" journey in Men's Football at the 33rd SEA Games, with the opening match of Group B against U22 Laos at Rajamangala Stadium.

To prepare for the opening match, on the afternoon of December 1, right after settling down in Bangkok, the Vietnam U22 team entered their first training session.

Having just gone through a journey, the first training session mainly helps the players warm up and get used to the weather conditions, field surface and training environment in Bangkok.

Before the match against U22 Laos in the opening match, Mr. Tran Anh Tu, Vice President of Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), affirmed that the preparation of U22 Vietnam was not just limited to a few days of gathering in Ba Ria, but was a long-term process.

"Vietnam U22 had 3 training trips in China, followed by a training trip in Qatar, then won the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, and won all the 2026 Asian U23 Qualifiers. This is a thorough and consistent preparation process, aiming to help the team achieve the best condition for the 33rd SEA Games," Vice President Tran Anh Tu emphasized.

The opponent in the opening match of U22 Vietnam is a familiar name - U22 Laos. Last November, the two teams had a clash in the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers, with coach Kim Sang-sik and his team winning a "hard-fought" 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Xuan Son (from the 11m mark) and Tuan Hai (in the last minute of extra time).

Laos (red shirt) caused many difficulties for the Vietnamese team at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. (Photo: aseanutdfc)

The recent match can also be considered a "dress rehearsal" for U22 Laos when key players such as midfielder Damoth Thongkhamsavath (currently playing for Dong A Thanh Hoa ), defender Phoutthavong Sangvilay (Pathum United - Thailand) or striker Peter Phanthavong (Ezra)... will continue to be the backbone of the squad called up by coach Ha Hyeok-jun to compete at the 33rd SEA Games.

With a familiar framework and playing style, Laos will likely continue to actively defend in large numbers - a tactic that often causes difficulties for Vietnam's strikers in their task of finding ways to approach the goal.

Although coach Kim Sang-sik emphasized before the match that this is a match in which U22 Vietnam needs to score many goals to create an advantage from the start, fans still cannot be assured about the scoring form of U22 Vietnam's strikers.

The scoring ability of the U22 Vietnam strikers is still quite limited. (Photo: Viet Anh/Vietnam+)

In the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers, only Ngoc My and Thanh Nhan were the strikers who scored. Further in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, Dinh Bac and... Hieu Minh - a central defender - were the team's top scorers (both with 2 goals).

"The U22 Vietnam squad lacks a target striker, this is even more obvious when the strikers' finishing ability is still limited," said coach Dang Phuong Nam.

In the absence of a "killer" on the attack line, coach Kim Sang-sik was forced to find a way to create a "rain of goals" from other options, like the match against Laos where U23 Vietnam won 3-0 thanks to a double from midfielder Hieu Minh.

Despite limitations in scoring and facing challenges from Laos' crowded defense, U22 Vietnam with its superior squad quality is considered capable of winning resoundingly on the opening day. If they can find an early goal to break the deadlock, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will have an advantage in aiming for a big win, thereby competing with U22 Malaysia for the top spot in the group./.