Potential but must be honed effectively

A GENERATION OF PLAYERS WITH RICH POTENTIAL

The U.17 Vietnam team has completed its first goal, which is to enter the top 16 strongest teams in Asia. Seeded in the second group and playing at home in Viet Tri City (Phu Tho), the U.17 Vietnam team has overcome Group I with Yemen, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan with the second place among the five best second-placed teams. Coach Cristiano Roland's students started with a 0-0 draw with U.17 Kyrgyzstan, beat U.17 Myanmar 2-0 before drawing with the top team U.17 Yemen 1-1. It was not an easy journey when there were continuous unexpected results in the group, causing the positions of the teams to constantly change. Objectively speaking, our young players have been playing better with each match, with an unbeaten record. Especially in the 2-0 victory over U.17 Myanmar, the U.17 Vietnam team controlled the game very well, put pressure and created many opportunities before scoring 2 goals by Nguyen Van Duong and Tran Gia Bao.

The Vietnam U.17 team (left) needs long-term, continuous investment to develop its potential.

In addition to good basic techniques, this U.17 Vietnam team impresses with a squad of players with beautiful physiques, especially the vertical axis. We can name two goalkeepers Hoa Xuan Tin (1.85 m) and Phan Dinh Bach (1.82 m), two strikers Tran Gia Bao, Nguyen Thien Phu (1.80 m). In addition, important players such as captain Le Huy Viet Anh, Pham Duc Duy (1.75 m), Nguyen Hong Quang, Le Tan Dung, Bach Trong Duong (1.76 m) ... born in 2008 (only 16 years old) all promise to improve their height to approach the threshold of 1.80 m.

Football expert Doan Minh Xuong commented: "Looking at what the players have shown, I think this generation has a lot of potential thanks to their foundation of thinking, physique, skills... Coach Cristiano Roland's coaching style is very suitable for young people, with an educational pedagogical method aimed at long-term development for them. This is an important foundation. As for how to fully develop the potential of this generation of players, we will need to wait for the right investment method."

NEED CONTINUOUS REFINING AND REFINING

The AFC homepage has highly appreciated the defense of the U.17 Vietnam team, believing that this will be the foundation for coach Cristiano Roland and his team to go further. The VFF is calculating options to overcome the biggest limitation of this generation, which is the lack of experience in the field. The U.17 Vietnam players will have the opportunity to test themselves in the qualifying round of the U.19 National Championship starting in December, followed by the Finals ending on February 28, 2025. This will be an opportunity for young players to compete with older opponents to hone their skills and mentality. It is expected that the VFF will wait for the AFC to draw lots for the U.17 Asian Cup Finals to determine the opponents, thereby finding suitable "blue troops" to compete in international friendlies. It is possible that U.17 Vietnam will have about 3 friendly matches in the Middle East, before entering the 2025 AFC U.17 Championship in Saudi Arabia (from May 3 to 20, 2025).

Expert Doan Minh Xuong said: "The U.17 Vietnam team has a good start. They have just finished the initial specialized training phase, moving on to career orientation from 17 to 20 years old to become professional players. They are at the age of forming, playing with a good team will be good, but playing against a bad team will be bad. VFF has set a high goal - by 2030, they will be in the top 10 of Asia, they cannot just sit and "count crabs in their holes", but must act. They need to find sponsors, coordinate with clubs to have a long-term investment plan, regularly let this generation of players compete, screen, and renew their force. They need to be continuously invested in with short-term training sessions, competing in highly competitive environments such as Japan, Korea, Europe... so that by 2030 they will be the core of the U.23 Vietnam team, even starting to supplement the Vietnam team".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-u17-viet-nam-co-tiem-nang-nhung-phai-mai-giua-hieu-qua-185241030230736056.htm