Sweet and worthy ticket to the Asian Finals for U.23 Vietnam

The 1-0 victory over U.23 Yemen helped U.23 Vietnam close Group C of the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers with 9 full points, thereby convincingly securing a ticket to the finals.

S EASY TO UNDERSTAND

U.23 Vietnam did not enter the match against U.23 Yemen on the evening of September 9th with a "draw" mentality, as coach Kim Sang-sik had hoped. However, in a situation where only 1 point was enough, the home team had no reason to risk going forward.

Therefore, U.23 Vietnam chose to enter the game confidently. Ngoc My and her teammates held the ball a lot, but did not rush to push the formation up, but instead passed the ball and then deployed it to the sidelines for crossers like Van Khang and Phi Hoang to cross in.

However, U.23 Yemen was also very alert, choosing a cautious approach with a deep-lying formation. The West Asian representative also prioritized a clean sheet, because 1 point was enough for U.23 Yemen to have an advantage compared to other second-place teams (unlike if they lost, they would definitely be eliminated). The cautious, calculating mentality made the match boring, between one team controlling the ball but playing cautiously, and the other team just playing lurking.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team thank the audience

U.23 Vietnam won a ticket to the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship after 3 wins

PHOTO: MINH TU

Excellent Thanh Nhan

However, the lulling situation that U.23 Yemen created almost made U.23 Vietnam pay the price. The proof was that in the 29th and 31st minutes, left-back Phi Hoang lost the ball twice in a row, opening the way for the opponent to counterattack. That was also the time when U.23 Vietnam was confused, allowing the opponent to rise up and create opportunities. The U.23 Vietnam strikers played disjointedly and lacked cohesion, so Mr. Kim made an unprecedented substitution when he withdrew all 3 strikers (Van Khang, Ngoc My, Quoc Viet) from the field in the 40th minute, to replace them with a new trio (Thanh Nhan, Dinh Bac, Van Thuan).

Coach Kim Sang-sik did not need a break to discuss and calculate the substitution. The Korean coach did it immediately, showing that U.23 Vietnam really wanted to score to win. It is possible to prioritize playing solidly, but it is impossible to attack superficially and waste opportunities. That is the implicit message of Mr. Kim behind the way he uses people.

WIN TICKET TO THE AFC U.23 FINAL

In the second half, U.23 Vietnam continued to maintain a cautious game. Although there were times when they wanted to launch an attack, the long passes of Mr. Kim's students lacked precision. Without a great striker in the squad, the seemingly overly cautious high-kicking style of U.23 Vietnam was easily neutralized by U.23 Yemen.

VFF officials congratulate coach Kim Sang-sik

On the other hand, U.23 Yemen pushed their formation higher in the second half, starting to press to win the ball in order to quickly attack. The West Asian representative chose to play proactively, preventing U.23 Vietnam from deploying the ball. Throughout the first half of the second half, U.23 Yemen was successful.

However, U.23 VN won thanks to a very good rotation. In the 70th minute, Van Thuan touched the ball delicately with his left foot to open an angle for Thanh Nhan to run down. The PVF-CAND striker did not hesitate, but decisively kicked the ball into the near corner to successfully defeat the U.23 Yemen goalkeeper, scoring the only goal of the match. When the opponent pressed fiercely, making it difficult to develop the ball from home, U.23 VN tore the U.23 Yemen net with a quick, quick hit. After only 3 touches, the ball from the sideline was neatly in the away team's net. At the same time, both the passer and the kicker were sent onto the field by Mr. Kim in the first half.

That is the beauty of U.23 Vietnam under Mr. Kim: no need to play excellently, still take advantage of situations to win. Therefore, U.23 Vietnam can progress slowly, but very steadily, and always knows how to solve brain-tight matches, requiring the ability to concentrate and overcome high psychological pressure.

When U.23 Vietnam took the lead, it was difficult for coach Kim and his team to lose the victory. In the last 20 minutes of the match, Hieu Minh and his teammates returned to their familiar and favorite "form": defending to keep the net intact. U.23 Vietnam had carefully studied U.23 Yemen's tactics. When individual mistakes were no longer repeated like in the first half, the opponent had no chance. From wing attacks, central attacks to individual breakthrough dribbling, U.23 Yemen were all stopped in front of the solid wall of U.23 Vietnam.

Defeating U.23 Yemen with a score of 1-0, U.23 Vietnam has won the ticket to the U.23 Asian Cup for the 6th consecutive time (including 5 times finishing first in the qualifying round). When the Vietnamese team is facing difficulties in the transition period, the steady progress of U.23 Vietnam brings encouragement. The strength of the young generation varies from time to time, but still meets the standard: being in the group of 16 strongest U.23 teams in Asia, to maintain their presence in the top playground.

This generation of players, although still needing to correct some weaknesses, is getting closer and closer to the standards of the Vietnamese national team. The next goal of Mr. Kim's students is to conquer the 33rd SEA Games, then play well at the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship, in the final years of being called young players.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ve-du-vck-chau-a-ngot-ngao-va-xung-dang-cho-u23-viet-nam-18525090921411881.htm