U22 Vietnam won with great difficulty, but no need to worry too much

Since the 1-1 draw with Thailand at the 2009 SEA Games, winning the opening match has become a habit for U22/23 Vietnam. We have won all 8 opening matches of the SEA Games so far, and the last two were against Laos.

Looking at the results 3-1 against Philippines in 2011, 7-0, 6-0, 6-0 against Brunei in 2013, 2015, 2019, 4-0 against Timor-Leste in 2017, 3-0 against Indonesia in 2021 and 2-0, 2-1 against Laos in 2023, 2025, it can be seen that the score difference is decreasing.

Before the match with U22 Laos, coach Kim Sang-sik warned that the country's football is improving day by day and bringing many difficulties. Indeed, U22 Vietnam struggled to get 3 points.

In fact, not only Laos, but also countries that are often considered weak have gradually changed. They invest more in the younger generation, adopt modern tactics and also have improvements in physical strength and thinking.

Also on the opening day of the men's football event of the 33rd SEA Games, despite losing 1-6, U22 Timor-Leste impressed with their disciplined and organized play and successfully scored against the home team, the result of one of many sharp counter-attacks.

However, this is no excuse for the unconvincing opening match of U22 Vietnam. On a sunny afternoon at Rajamangala, coach Kim Sang-sik’s players had many chances to create a resounding victory. In fact, many. But most of them were squandered by the players.

Although U22 Laos played a well-organized and crowded defense, there were still enough gaps for U22 Vietnam to penetrate and then threaten the goal of goalkeeper Lokphathip. In many situations, Dinh Bac and his teammates showed their creativity and ability to coordinate smoothly as a team. Unfortunately, the players' aiming range was really a problem.

There were moments when fans wondered how players like Thanh Nhan, Quoc Viet or even Dinh Bac, who had an excellent performance and scored a double, could miss out?

In the case of trying to mitigate their wastefulness, the fact that the players finishing do not have a really good position to score is a reason. Thanh Nhan's finishing situation right in the opponent's defender's block in the 43rd minute, or Quoc Viet's close-range touch that hit the opponent's foot in the 50th minute are typical examples.

This is what U22 Vietnam needs to improve, create more delicious opportunities, and finish more calmly. Remember that the next opponents are not easy, opportunities do not come often and a successful finishing situation can decide the match.

At the same time, the U22 Vietnam defense also needs to be reinforced. On Wednesday afternoon, if the U22 Laos players were sharper, Trung Kien's net would have shaken more than once. The moment of loss of concentration leading to the loss of a goal and the many times allowing the opponent to escape after passing to the flanks of the central defenders should not be repeated.

At Rajamangala, on the pitch, the coaching staff kept shouting "focus", "play simple", "there's still plenty of time" to remind them. And they calmed down to finish the match well.

U22 Vietnam had a winning start, and that was the most important thing.

The good news is that coach Kim Sang-sik's teams always improve over time. As seen, the Vietnam national team at the ASEAN Cup 2024, the Vietnam U23 team at the U23 Southeast Asian Championship 2025 have the ability to improve themselves right in the tournament, gradually overcome weaknesses, promote strengths after each match, and finally reach the highest peak.

Perhaps we don't need to worry too much about performances. The somewhat austere matches have even become part of the Kim Sang-sik era.

But the win, and the title, have done enough to quell the complaints about the gameplay. After all, what we need is results, right?

Source: https://tienphong.vn/u22-viet-nam-thang-khac-kho-nhung-khong-can-qua-lo-lang-post1801673.tpo