The 'male gods' of U.23 Vietnam are over 1.8 m tall: No fear of naturalized opponents

The 'huge' height of U.23 Vietnam

35 members of the U.23 Vietnam team have entered a long-term training session in Ba Ria - Vung Tau to prepare for the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament. Coach Kim Sang-sik's students are participating in the tournament as defending champions, after winning the championship in 2022 and 2023.

There is some concern for U.23 Vietnam in this year's tournament, as U.23 Indonesia, U.23 Malaysia and U.23 Thailand may field many naturalized players.

However, U.23 Vietnam also has 2 potential overseas Vietnamese players, Viktor Le and Alex Bui. At the same time, coach Kim Sang-sik has 9 players with impressive height (1.8 m or taller), and 7 of them play in defense.

Dàn 'nam thần' cao trên 1,8 m của U.23 Việt Nam: Không ngán đối thủ nhập tịch! - Ảnh 1. — U.23 Vietnam is training in Ba Ria - Vung Tau

They are goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien (1.91 m), Nguyen Tan (1.8 m), Cao Van Binh (1.83 m), central defenders Le Van Ha (1.84 m), Pham Ly Duc (1.82 m), Dinh Quang Kiet (1.96 m), Nguyen Hieu Minh (1.84 m), and midfielders Nguyen Van Truong (1.82 m), Viktor Le (1.8 m).

In addition to the tall players mentioned above, there are also names that are not yet 1.8 m tall, but also have good physiques such as striker Nguyen Dinh Bac (1.79 m), striker Bui Alex (1.78 m), fullback Nguyen Hong Phuc (1.78 m), or center back Nguyen Nhat Minh (1.75 m).

During the U.23 Vietnam training session in March, acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh called up 27 players with an average height of 1.77 m. Of which, the average height of the goalkeeper was 1.83 m, the defender was 1.76 m, the midfielder was 1.75 m and the striker was 1.76 m.

Dàn 'nam thần' cao trên 1,8 m của U.23 Việt Nam: Không ngán đối thủ nhập tịch! - Ảnh 2. — Ly Duc (orange shirt) and Trung Kien both have good height.

The average height of 1.77 m of U.23 Vietnam is also much better, when compared to the 1.73 m of the Vietnamese youth team at SEA Games 32 (2023).

U.23 Vietnam's tactics

More importantly, U.23 Vietnam has an ideal height floor, with most of them being over 1.73 m tall, and equally tall in all positions on the field (especially the defense line).

With good height from defense to attack, U.23 Vietnam has a big advantage in aerial disputes. Since the time of coach Park Hang-seo, the height of U.23 Vietnam has improved year by year. Currently, the players are no longer "afraid" of high balls, ready to compete with Southeast Asian opponents, even West Asian opponents, from youth to national team levels.

Good height helps teams not only defend and compete more effectively, but also make better use of high balls to score goals.

U.23 Vietnam won the 30th SEA Games with 24 goals after 7 matches, thanks to making good use of "poles" such as Doan Van Hau, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Huynh Tan Sinh, Nguyen Tien Linh, Nguyen Hoang Duc for high ball situations or midfield disputes.

That is the path that coach Kim Sang-sik can choose for U.23 Vietnam in the Southeast Asian tournament. When most of the players are inexperienced and have not had time to play together to "create" a cohesive playing style, U.23 Vietnam can play long balls, trying to exploit set pieces, which is a tactic that does not require players to spend much time together.

With 9 "poles" 1.8 m or taller, U.23 Vietnam is capable of playing well in aerial situations, first in the 2 group stage matches against U.23 Laos and U.23 Cambodia, which are opponents with modest heights.

The "weapon" for the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament is being honed by coach Kim Sang-sik. Let's wait and see how far U.23 Vietnam can go.