Favorable SEA Games stage: Coach Kim does this, U.23 Vietnam will win the championship

The reduced number of matches makes the SEA Games format more similar to the U.23 Southeast Asian playground, where U.23 Vietnam has won all three recent tournaments.

Advantages of U.23 Vietnam

The draw for men's football at the 33rd SEA Games on October 19 has determined the group of U.23 Vietnam. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are in group B, with opponents U.23 Malaysia and U.23 Laos.

To qualify for the semi-finals, U.23 Vietnam needs to win first place, or become the best second-placed team (compared to the second-placed teams in Group A and C). This format is favorable for Quoc Viet and his teammates, as the number of matches has been halved.

Men's football tournament table SEA Games 33

PHOTO: Organizing Committee

Compared to previous SEA Games, this year’s tournament has changed: each group has only 3 or 4 teams. To win the championship, U.23 Vietnam will only need to play 4 matches, including 2 group stage matches, the semi-finals and the final.

In previous years, SEA Games men's football was a fierce tournament, with each group having 6 teams. This meant that to win the championship, the teams had to go through a total of 7 matches, including 5 group stage matches, along with the semi-finals and the final. 7 matches in just 3 weeks created a huge pressure for any team wanting to conquer the gold medal.

In 2019, U.23 Vietnam won the 30th SEA Games with 7 unbeaten matches (6 wins, 1 draw), thanks to a very strong squad that was molded at the U.23 Asia and ASIAD 2018.

Despite dominating most of the matches, coach Park Hang-seo also affirmed that the tight schedule at the SEA Games made it "difficult for the teams to breathe", only allowing them to compete and recover, instead of practicing tactics and adjusting.

Or at SEA Games 31, U.23 Vietnam also won the championship, but had to go through a series of days struggling to adapt to the continuous playing intensity.

However, the decision of host Thailand to halve the number of SEA Games matches will give the championship candidates an advantage.

Some U.23 Vietnam players (red shirts) gain experience in the national team

PHOTO: MINH TU

Instead of having to play many matches and then play the final with tired legs, strong teams like Thailand, Indonesia or Vietnam can calculate their energy and focus on the core competitions.

Mr. Kim's calculation

The format of men's football at SEA Games 33 has been changed to be similar to the U.23 Southeast Asia tournament - a tournament that U.23 Vietnam absolutely dominated with the last 3 championships, and 12 unbeaten matches.

Coach Kim Sang-sik's students are familiar with the rhythm of playing 4 matches, both in terms of tactical preparation, human calculation, peak performance and psychological warfare. When SEA Games returns to the competitive ego like U.23 Southeast Asia, U.23 Vietnam is no different than returning to "home ground".

Of course, shortening the number of matches at SEA Games 33 has two sides. Teams need to focus right from the start, no mistakes are allowed. One fall is enough to take away the chance to pass the group stage.

For example, if following the previous 6-team group format, U.23 Vietnam could lose points from 1 to 2 matches, but still get a ticket to the next round if they win all the remaining matches. In this year's SEA Games, U.23 Vietnam has a 99% chance of being eliminated immediately if they lose to U.23 Malaysia. Although the schedule is theoretically lighter in intensity, it is more severe in terms of psychology.

Each match is as tough as a final, requiring the teams to play with confidence and determination. That is exactly what Coach Kim's team has.

U.23 Vietnam aims for the throne

PHOTO: VFF

The current U.23 Vietnam team does not attack as aggressively and systematically as when they dominated the SEA Games 30 6 years ago. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team has only scored 12 goals in the last 7 matches, struggling even in matches against weaker teams such as U.23 Cambodia (2-1), U.23 Singapore (1-0) or U.23 Bangladesh (1-0).

However, U.23 Vietnam defended steadily, pragmatically and calculatedly with the mindset of "not losing before thinking about winning".

The stability in both mentality, approach to the game and control of the game helps coach Kim's team, although not playing enthusiastically, to be very difficult to defeat. Like a tank moving forward, slowly but hard to stop.

The fact that every match at SEA Games 33 will be a heavy psychological battle, "breathless" will be an advantage for U.23 Vietnam. As the players have been trained thoroughly to get used to this type of battle.

Coach Kim Sang-sik is carefully preparing his strategy for the SEA Games. U.23 Vietnam is ready to conquer the throne.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chang-dau-sea-games-thuan-loi-thay-kim-lam-dieu-nay-u23-viet-nam-se-vo-dich-185251021110811117.htm