What is U23 Vietnam preparing for the final match?

In addition to the great pressure from Indonesian audiences, U23 Vietnam must continue to improve its limitations to aim for victory in the final match on July 29.

Vietnam U23 team needs to improve finishing in the final match against host Indonesia - Photo: ANH KHOA

Since the beginning of the tournament, the coaching staff of U23 Vietnam has come to the field twice to directly observe U23 Indonesia compete.

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Specifically, coach Kim Sang Sik sent his assistant to watch the match where U23 Indonesia beat the Philippines 1-0 in the group stage. And after the match where U23 Vietnam beat the Philippines in the semi-finals, Mr. Kim and two assistants stayed at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium to watch the semi-final match between U23 Indonesia and Thailand.

The Vietnamese players also watched the match while having dinner at the hotel.

Although he left the field after U23 Indonesia equalized 1-1 in the 83rd minute, instead of watching two extra periods and the penalty shootout, Mr. Kim still "harvested" everything he needed for the upcoming final match.

Mr. Kim spent time discussing with his assistants when the U23 Vietnam team had a break yesterday (July 26) before analyzing the opponent's strengths and weaknesses with his players to prepare for the match.

Indonesia U23 has Dutch-born striker Jens Raven leading the "Top scorer" list with 7 goals. But this 1m89 tall striker is not really dangerous.

He scored 6 goals in the 8-0 victory over U23 Brunei, and only scored 1 more goal against U23 Thailand in the semi-final match where he also missed many other good chances. Therefore, if he plays with concentration, the Vietnamese defense can completely "lock down" Jens Raven.

Through the 3 matches played, Coach Kim Sang Sik's ability to adapt was very good, especially in the semi-final match against U23 Philippines. He moved Ly Duc from the position of sweeper center back in the two group stage matches to play left center back to face the dangerous left striker Javier Mariona.

Although Javier Mariona still scored the opening goal (from a mistake by center back Hieu Minh), Ly Duc prevented this player who is playing in the US from fully utilizing his strengths.

So it can be believed that after carefully studying the U23 Indonesia strikers, Mr. Kim knows what to do for the U23 Vietnam defense in the final match.

Improve scoring

The ability to attack the flanks and fight in the air is the bright spot of U23 Vietnam. In particular, the left wing has a strong attacking power with 4 goals coming from here. In particular, the outstanding ability of Phi Hoang in the two goals of Dinh Bac and Xuan Bac in the victory over U23 Philippines.

However, the ability to take advantage of scoring opportunities has been a problem for U23 Vietnam strikers in all 3 recent matches. Against U23 Philippines, U23 Vietnam had 16 shots but only 3 were on target. In many situations where they could have scored, U23 Vietnam strikers missed the ball.

Specifically, Dinh Bac missed a chance in a face-to-face encounter with the Guimaraes goalkeeper at the end of the first half. In the second half, it was Le Van Thuan's turn to shoot wide when facing an open goal. Witnessing Van Thuan's unbelievable miss, Mr. Kim angrily threw away his badge and knelt down on the field.

In fact, coach Kim Sang Sik has done many things to help the U23 Vietnam strikers play better. In addition to instructions and finishing exercises on the training ground, Mr. Kim also continuously changed the starting trio of strikers in all 3 matches.

Mr. Kim even replaced Thai Son - an experienced central midfielder with a defensive orientation - with Xuan Bac (strong in attack) in the last two matches to further support the attack.

But things still haven't changed much. Not to mention Quoc Viet got injured and had to leave the field in the match against U23 Philippines, so it's unlikely he'll be able to return in time for the final.

Vietnam U23 team defeated Indonesia in the final match of the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in Thailand to win the title. But at that time, Vietnam U23 only won in the penalty shootout (0-0 draw in 120 minutes of play).

This could be repeated in the upcoming final, when both the U23 Vietnam and Indonesia strikers are not playing well. Therefore, the team that can make a change will have a chance to win.

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NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/u23-viet-nam-chuan-bi-gi-cho-tran-chung-ket-20250726225655669.htm