Vietnam - Indonesia: Can they defend the Southeast Asian U23 throne?

Winning the final match on the evening of August 26, Vietnam will make history by winning the championship for the second consecutive time, and at the same time affirm its leading position in Southeast Asian youth football.

*Vietnam - Indonesia: 8:00 p.m. Saturday, August 26, on VnExpress.

In the group stage, Vietnam did not play very impressively. Mainly because coach Hoang Anh Tuan constantly shuffled the squad, giving opportunities to many young players. In the opening match, his team was not too dominant, even under pressure at times when Laos equalized 1-1. Thanks to the above adjustments to the attack, Vietnam was able to score three goals in the last 15 minutes to win 4-1. The team then only defeated the Philippines with a minimum difference of 1-0. But in the semi-finals, with the strongest squad, Vietnam showed a completely different face, defeating Malaysia in the first half when leading by three goals. Despite taking some key players such as Xuan Tien, Minh Khoa, Dinh Duy and Quoc Viet off the field to save energy for the final, the team still ended the match with a 4-1 victory.

Under the guidance of coach Hoang Anh Tuan, Vietnam tried to build a ball control style of play, proactively imposing an attacking game. However, the team still had moments of losing concentration in defense, and the offense missed many opportunities. This is also understandable when the schedule is tight, causing the coaching staff not to have much time to train the players. Before each match, the team only had one training session, mainly to relax and recover.

Dinh Xuan Tien celebrates his goal against Indonesia at the 32nd SEA Games. He is also in good form, having just scored a double in the semi-final match of the U23 Southeast Asian Championship against Malaysia. Photo: Lam Thoa

Yesterday afternoon’s training session was the first time Vietnam practiced tactics before a match in this tournament, lasting about 30 minutes to practice how to deal with Indonesia’s throw-ins. This is one of the weapons of the archipelago team, with a strong throw like a free kick, sending the ball straight into the goal to find a scoring opportunity. Indonesia scored three goals from throw-ins at the 32nd SEA Games, and once scored against Thailand in the semi-final of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan arranged five to seven players to stand in the penalty area to deal with throw-ins near the home team's goal. He also had them practice over and over again to divide the blocking roles, helping goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan and his teammates have clear communication in the contested situations. Defender Hong Phuc said the team had analyzed very carefully and prepared well to deal with the opponent's vicious attack.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is facing the opportunity to win the championship for the first time when leading the Vietnamese youth teams. Photo: Lam Thoa

Compared to Indonesia, Vietnam has an advantage in terms of personnel when no player is injured or suspended. The team also has good physical strength when winning easily in the semi-finals. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan has the opportunity to lift the championship for the first time when leading a Vietnamese youth team. The coach from Khanh Hoa was assigned by VFF to lead U16, U17, U19, U20, U21, causing a big stir with the achievement of reaching the semi-finals of the U19 Asian Cup in 2016, helping Vietnam for the first time have an 11-man football team to win a ticket to the world playground - the U20 World Cup 2017. However, he lacked a bit of luck to be able to win the tournaments, when he lost to Thailand in the final in 2015 and a year later lost to Australia in the semi-finals of the U19 tournament.

Tuan's colleague Shin Tae-yong is also waiting for his first title . Shin is famous for leading South Korea to defeat defending champion Germany 2-0 at the 2018 World Cup. He went to Indonesia to work from the end of 2019, receiving a salary of 1.5 million USD per year, with the expectation of helping the archipelago's football dominate Southeast Asia. But the results were not as expected. Coach Shin led the U17, U20 to U23 teams and the national team but has never won a championship. The best achievement he has achieved is the runner-up position at the AFF Cup 2020. At the 32nd SEA Games, Indonesia defeated Thailand in the final, winning the gold medal after 32 years of waiting, but Mr. Shin was only an advisor at that time, the direct coach was Indra Sjafri.

Indonesia entered the U23 Southeast Asia tournament with a strong squad, including nine players who had just won the SEA Games gold medal three months ago, such as goalkeeper Ernando Ari, defenders Haykal Alhafiz, Alfeandra Dewangga, Bagas Kafffa, midfielder Bekham Putra, striker Ramadhan Sananta... However, they did not play well in the group stage, losing 1-2 to Malaysia, barely winning 1-0 against Timor Leste and only getting a "survival ticket" to the semi-finals as the second-best team (partly thanks to Vietnam defeating the Philippines in the final round). Coach Shin therefore received a lot of criticism, and was even asked to resign by fans.

Indonesia (red shirt) has a tough playing style that makes many opponents hesitate. Photo: Lam Thoa

However, the team from the archipelago transformed when they reached the semi-finals, played impressively and defeated host Thailand 3-1. This is the second time in Indonesia that coach Shin has reached the final of a tournament.

In this tournament, Indonesia still maintains a fiery style of play, sometimes considered violent, not hesitating to tackle with all their might. This style of play is like a double-edged sword. They can make their opponents falter and not show their full potential, but because of that, they often get injured, leading to a loss of strength. That is happening to Indonesia, when they only have 16 players left to face Vietnam.

According to Indonesian media, the most regrettable absence is captain Bagas Kaffa. Before the semi-final match against Thailand, coach Shin planned to continue to rely on Kaffa in the right-back position. However, this player was not in the starting lineup and according to information provided by the Indonesian Football Federation, he was injured during the pre-match warm-up. He is likely to be unable to participate in the final.

In addition to injuries, Indonesia also faced a shortage of personnel due to a mistake in selecting players before the tournament. They could only use 21 players instead of 23 like other teams, because they chose Titan Agung and Komang Teguh, but both received a ban from the AFC due to the brawl in the 32nd SEA Games final with Thailand.

Expected lineup

Vietnam: Van Chuan, Duy Cuong, Ngoc Thang, Nam Hai, Duc Viet, Xuan Tien, Van Khang, Minh Quang, Minh Khoa, Dinh Duy, Quoc Viet.

Indonesia: Eranando, Amuriddin, Frengdy, Beckham, Arkhan, Santana, Kelley, Haykal, Ferari, Santosa, Rifky.

Lam Thoa

Vnexpress.net