Victory is a given

Don't underestimate U23 Laos, and more importantly, there are always many surprises in youth tournaments, but all predictions of victory are placed on U23 Vietnam before the ball rolls.

U23 Vietnam (not yet released the strongest lineup), with Khuat Van Khang, Quoc Viet, Ly Duc, Dinh Bac... is enough for coach Kim Sang Sik's team to dominate and win all 3 points in the opening match of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament, because of its superiority over U23 Laos in terms of class and international competition experience.

In addition to professional quality, maturity in age is also a key factor. According to statistics, the average age of the U23 Vietnam starting lineup is 21.4, while Laos is less than 20 (exactly 19.8 years old) - a big gap at the youth level, so it is normal for the defending champions to win the match.

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U23 Vietnam won against U23 Laos. Photo: Huu Ha

To things that are not easily satisfied

Falling into the same group as U23 Laos, U23 Cambodia is considered much weaker, winning all and getting a ticket to the semi-finals with the top position in the group is inevitable for U23 Vietnam.

Therefore, winning against U23 Laos with the minimum score or more is basically no different, when in the final match against U23 Cambodia, coach Kim Sang Sik's team only needs a draw to get the ticket.

Therefore, judging only by the score will be one-sided. The core problem of U23 Vietnam that makes fans and experts not feel impressed lies in the performance that is not very convincing in terms of expertise, even though U23 Laos is very weak.

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Because superiority rather than victory comes from class. Photo: Huu Ha

It is understandable as it is the opening match, but the problem is that U23 Vietnam has not shown the image of the defending champion, and at the same time the most experienced and classy team in the U23 Southeast Asian tournament.

The monotonous attacks on both flanks and the ineffectiveness of the crosses inside are things that everyone can see. The three goals did not come from exemplary coordination but mainly came from set pieces or mistakes by the opponent, which is a problem that coach Kim Sang Sik must pay attention to.

It can be seen that U23 Vietnam won all 3 points against U23 Laos because of their superior strength rather than because of their class. That means, coach Kim Sang Sik's team pressed the field, waited for their opponent to make a mistake and took advantage of it instead of making U23 Laos unable to stop the moves they had practiced all this time.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/u23-viet-nam-hlv-kim-sang-sik-vi-dau-chua-the-hai-long-2423858.html