Stumble to progress

The consecutive failures will help U23 Vietnam (in white shirts) realize their weaknesses so that they can improve and progress further. Photo: VFF

But with a friendly training ground, the values after this failure will be much more valuable for the players to progress and mature.

If the loss to U23 Iraq came from a lack of players, in the match against U23 UAE, U23 Vietnam played with full squad for 90 minutes but the team suffered an even heavier defeat. The plus points for the young Vietnamese players in this match were their efforts to not concede a goal in the first half as well as their daring to hold the ball and develop the ball from the home field despite being pressed quite a lot by the opponent. Besides, Van Do and his teammates also showed their efforts, despite conceding goals in the second half, they still did not give up the goal of attacking to find an equalizer. Those are the things that Coach Troussier's students should promote in the coming time.

But the weaknesses from the 2 losses in Doha, especially against U23 UAE of U23 Vietnam were quite exposed. Against opponents with better physique, speed, and technique, U23 Vietnam was quite confused in implementing their playing style, they could not promote the defensive counter-attacking strength that has become the trademark of Vietnamese youth teams. The team's "attacks" in the last 2 matches were unclear, the finishing step is a big problem. Conceding 7 goals in 2 matches partly shows the lack of solidity of the defense, where U23 Vietnam has many pillars who won the 31st SEA Games gold medal. Against opponents with diverse attacks, especially high balls, U23 Vietnam's defense revealed many limitations, the most obvious proof is that the first goals conceded in the last 2 matches were all high ball attacks by the opponent.

Along with that, physical strength is an issue that Coach Troussier will have to help his students improve a lot in the coming time. In both recent matches, young Vietnamese players often "weakened" in the final minutes and then continuously conceded goals. Statistics show that U23 Vietnam conceded 3 goals from the 80th minute onwards in these 2 matches. That problem was acknowledged by Coach Troussier after the match with U23 UAE.

“In terms of results, U23 Vietnam lost, but the goal that the team aimed for when participating in the tournament was the gradual progress of the players. I told the players that the real result is not in the scoreboard but in the ideas and attitude of playing football. U23 Vietnam is working hard, practicing hard, the team has shown a good foundation to gradually improve,” coach Troussier said about the ultimate goal of U23 Vietnam after the last two matches.

VINH HY

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