U23 Vietnam's strange tactics make it difficult for U23 Indonesia to throw the ball in

(Dan Tri) - In the final minutes of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament on the evening of July 29, the coaching staff of U23 Vietnam used an "unprecedented" tactic, causing U23 Indonesia to sadly accept defeat.

Defeating Indonesia, U23 Vietnam won the U23 Southeast Asian Championship for the third time

"In the final match, a smart tactic from U23 Vietnam attracted everyone's attention. Along the sidelines marking the edge of the U23 Vietnam technical area, a row of water bottles was neatly arranged. This was no coincidence," Asean Football newspaper said about U23 Vietnam's tactic in the final minutes of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship final match held at Bung Karno Stadium (Indonesia) on the evening of July 29.

The image of water bottles scattered in front of the technical area of ​​the U23 Vietnam coaching staff makes it difficult for the U23 Indonesia players to throw the ball (Screenshot).

The Vietnam U23 team took the lead against Indonesia with a score of 1-0 thanks to Cong Phuong's goal in the 37th minute, and maintained this score until the 90th minute of the match.

Although the match only had 5 minutes of extra time, the referee still extended the match to 10 minutes because he thought there were many interruptions from both teams. At this time, the U23 Indonesia players continuously used long throws from the sidelines into the penalty area in the hope of finding an equalizer.

Notably, defender Robi Darwis is the "throw-in machine" of U23 Indonesia as the player born in 2003 has a very strong throw and causes a lot of trouble for the defense of U23 Vietnam.

However, in the 90+9 minute of extra time, in the technical area of ​​the Vietnamese team, a long line of water bottles suddenly appeared, scattered along the sidelines and in a mess, making it difficult for Robi Darwis to run up to throw the ball.

This player's throw then became harmless when goalkeeper Trung Kien easily caught the ball, which was also the moment the referee blew the whistle to end the match.

"It is clear that the purpose of spreading water bottles on the touchline is to limit the throw-in ability of U23 Indonesia, making it more difficult for them to run up to execute their long and powerful throw-ins - a main attacking weapon in the home team's tactics.

But U23 Vietnam has a very smart, simple and effective countermeasure," commented Asean Football newspaper.

Notably, the U23 Vietnam's water bottle throwing tactic not only prevented the U23 Indonesia players from throwing the ball but also caused an assistant coach of the archipelago team to receive a red card from the referee. The reason this person angrily ran into the technical area of ​​the Vietnam coaching staff to "kick away" the above mentioned water bottles.

The referee showed a red card to the Indonesian assistant coach for reacting to the Vietnamese coaching staff using water bottles scattered along the sidelines (Screenshot).

"Very smart and did not break any rules. Congratulations to U23 Vietnam for winning," Rice commented on the tactic of using water bottle barriers by the U23 Vietnam coaching staff.

"No, this is football, not volleyball or basketball. So the U23 Indonesian players should use their brains and feet, not their hands," Lucky Luke said.

"Whatever is not prohibited by law, just apply it. Congratulations to U23 Vietnam," added Shafidzul Hafiz.

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ live onFPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chien-thuat-la-cua-u23-viet-nam-khien-u23-indonesia-gap-kho-khi-nem-bien-20250730004142654.htm