U22 Vietnam and half of the satisfaction

Coach Ha Hyeok Jun rightly believes that U22 Laos deserved to claim a point in their opening match, while Coach Kim Sang Sik has both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with his players. And the home fans seem to need a bit more patience with U22 Vietnam.

Ultimately, U22 Vietnam achieved what they needed — 3 points in their opening match — and the journey to the SEA Games 33 title is still quite long.

A tough "debut"

When Đình Bắc scored in the 29th minute, everyone expected U22 Vietnam to dominate U22 Laos as previous generations had done. Yet, barely past the first half of the first half, U22 Laos forced U22 Vietnam to struggle defensively and quickly equalized. Although U22 Vietnam won 2-1 thanks to Đình Bắc’s brilliance, many concerns remain.

U22 Vietnam’s performance did not meet expectations. The attack was poor, missing at least 6 clear scoring chances. Also, the defense was sometimes shaky in a game where Coach Kim Sang Sik wanted to control play. The deadlock in tactics shows that Kim Sang Sik’s team cannot yet play simply and effectively as hoped.

The question arises: has U22 Laos genuinely improved, or has U22 Vietnam not yet found their form at the start? Probably both are reasonable explanations. Coach Kim Sang Sik made personnel changes in the second half to switch tactics, but U22 Vietnam became more confused.

Opportunities to get close to the opponent’s goal decreased, while their own goal was threatened more often. The style focusing on ball possession and progressive passing was not a failure but cannot be called a success either. This philosophy of Coach Kim Sang Sik reflects modern football trends, but his players may not have mastered it at the highest level yet.

Additionally, Thái Sơn and Xuân Bắc have not clearly asserted control over the midfield. Therefore, U22 Vietnam lacked creativity in attack organization. Most attacking moves depended heavily on the wings. On a day when Khuất Văn Khang was not at his best, U22 Vietnam’s offense became disorganized and unbalanced.

The reality on the field showed that U22 Vietnam’s dominance in ball possession time was nearly meaningless due to low effectiveness. Facing a deep, disciplined, and "cement-like" defense from U22 Laos, young players like Thanh Nhàn, Văn Khang, Thái Sơn, and Quốc Việt fell into a familiar state: impatience and haste. These two factors prevented them from playing smoothly.