Expert Phan Anh Tu: U23 Vietnam defeated Laos as planned

The 3-0 victory of U23 Vietnam over U23 Laos in the opening match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship on the evening of July 19 in Indonesia basically helped Vietnam achieve its goal, when the tournament still has a long way to go.

U23 Vietnam (white shirt) easily defeated Laos - Photo: ANH KHOA

Football expert Phan Anh Tu assessed that the victory of U23 Vietnam over U23 Laos was reasonable. U23 Vietnam is basically the defending champion and is rated higher than its opponent.

"We entered the U23 Southeast Asian tournament with a highly rated position. U23 Vietnam is in a relatively easy group when facing Laos and Cambodia in the last two matches, so we have a great advantage," Mr. Tu analyzed.

According to him, coach Kim Sang Sik can check the opponent and find the weak points when U23 Vietnam plays later (group C has only 3 teams). In addition, the quality of the U23 squad is quite good.

U23 Vietnam has had a good training period in China and has had a good start. Overall, in this group, coach Kim Sang Sik can calculate long-term for the top spot and preserve his personnel.

Regarding the opponent, U23 Laos knows how to approach this match without being a one-on-one match with U23 Vietnam. They focus on defending in large numbers in the 16m50 area, causing many difficulties for the young Vietnamese team.

"With such a tactical nature, it is difficult to ask for a bigger win from U23 Vietnam. A 3-0 result is satisfactory. After all, this is the opening match so the players are certainly limited," commented Mr. Tu.

The highlight can be said to be the 2 goals of Nguyen Hieu Minh and the opening goal of Khuat Van Khang. Hieu Minh joined the attack because there was a lot of space left in the 2nd line.

"In addition, I have not seen any creativity in this match when the opponent defended too tightly. U23 Vietnam will still rely on the leadership of Nguyen Thai Son and Nguyen Van Truong.

Overall, with the quality of the squad and many experienced players who have played in the first division and V-League, it is not difficult for us to achieve the goal in the group stage. To go far, we still have to wait for the talent of Mr. Kim Sang Sik," said expert Anh Tu.

U23 Vietnam will meet U23 Cambodia at 8pm on July 22 at Bung Karno Stadium. In the opening match, Cambodia drew 1-1 with Laos. Only the top team will advance in Group C.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-gia-phan-anh-tu-u23-viet-nam-thang-lao-dung-ke-hoach-20250719204545572.htm