U.22 Vietnam wins SEA Games 33, is it possible?

CHALLENGES AWAIT FOR YOUNG PLAYERS

The SEA Games gold medal is no longer a nightmare for the U.22 generation, when coach Park Hang-seo helped Vietnamese youth football break the curse in 2019 with the SEA Games 30 championship. Three years later, U.22 Vietnam successfully defended the throne at SEA Games 31 with a record of 6 unbeaten matches. The unbeaten streak of young Vietnamese players lasted 17 matches over 4 years, only stopping at the semi-finals of SEA Games 32 in 2023, when U.22 Vietnam lost to U.22 Indonesia.

Vi Hao (right) is a rare U.22 player who has a place in the Vietnamese national team.

In general, the position of Vietnamese youth football has changed a lot. The runner-up position of the U.23 Asia in 2018, the ticket to the U.20 World Cup 2017... is proof of the rise of a football foundation. The continuous precious gems forged in the period 2013 to present, have contributed to creating the potential generation of Thuong Chau, helping the Vietnamese team to break through in the period 2018 - 2022. For Vietnamese football, the ability of the U.22 generation seems to have a role in signaling the future. With a quality youth generation, the Vietnamese team has a foundation to rise, and vice versa.

However, it is impossible to expect that every generation of U.22 Vietnam is of high quality. The failure at the 32nd SEA Games is an example, when the players under coach Philippe Troussier were assessed as lacking international experience. The French coach has tried to "nourish" his students through training trips, friendly matches, and thoroughly correcting errors in technique, tactics and football thinking. However, U.22 Vietnam cannot change in just a few months, when most of the young players lack the experience and exposure to face difficulties.

This is the mountain that coach Kim Sang-sik's U.22 Vietnam team must overcome at the 33rd SEA Games. After all, the young generation in coach Kim's hands at this time has many similarities with the time of coach Troussier. Of the 13 U.22 players who participated in the 2024 U.23 Asian Cup finals, only 3 players, including Nguyen Thai Son (11 matches, 990 minutes), Bui Vi Hao (11 matches, 907 minutes) and Khuat Van Khang (10 matches, 703 minutes), have played more than 10 matches in the V-League. The rest are divided into 2 groups: reserve in the V-League, or starting in the first division. Only Vi Hao is the only U.22 player who can make it into the main squad of the Vietnam team in at least 4 matches at the 2024 AFF Cup.

Coach Kim Sang-sik clearly understands that the hardships of U.22 Vietnam will be greater than the national team. Because instead of taking advantage of the experienced human resources left by his predecessor, Mr. Kim must look for new factors himself. He shared with Thanh Nien: "I will diligently go to the field to discover young players. They are the future of Vietnamese football". It is very likely that at the 33rd SEA Games, Mr. Kim will not be forced to win a gold medal. The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) will soon finalize the target with the Korean coach, most likely only requiring U.22 Vietnam to be present in the final match. However, Mr. Kim emphasized that he always wants to enter every tournament with the goal of winning and becoming a champion. The former strategist of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Club has his own ambitions and the remaining time (9 months) is enough for him to prepare for a difficult but also exciting adventure.

CHAMPION, WHY NOT?

According to commentator Vu Quang Huy, winning the SEA Games is no longer a must for U.22 Vietnam, but let's boldly set the highest goal because this is a stimulus for young players to try to change themselves.

"At the 33rd SEA Games, U.22 Vietnam will face many strong opponents. U.22 Thailand has a lot of potential, with many faces trained by Mr. Masatada Ishii in the national team. U.22 Indonesia is also formidable, when many young players have appeared at the AFF Cup 2024, helping the Indonesian team only lose 0-1 to Vietnam in the group stage. In addition, there are Singapore, Malaysia or Cambodia. Some people think that U.22 Vietnam is currently not strong enough and lacks experience, but we should understand that youth football is always changing and we can take advantage of that unpredictability to create advantages for ourselves.

I have noticed that in the years of the SEA Games, young Vietnamese players in particular and Vietnamese youth football in general are always very focused, have a clear direction and goal to overcome the limit. I am optimistic about the young generation of coach Kim Sang-sik, because many players such as Van Cuong, Quoc Viet, Van Truong, Van Khang... have experience playing for the Vietnamese national team and have participated in the 32nd SEA Games. Two years ago, the core of the SEA Games of the U.22 Vietnam team was actually the U.20 generation. They have had more time to hone their skills to come back stronger this year. In addition, there are discoveries such as Dinh Bac, Nguyen Hoang... In Mr. Kim Sang-sik's hands is a list of 50 potential young players, and he will test and train his students in the upcoming training sessions," Mr. Huy assessed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u22-viet-nam-vo-dich-sea-games-co-kha-thi-18525021121224928.htm