Coach Hoang Anh Tuan rolls up his sleeves to fix mistakes for U.23 Vietnam

Vietnam U23 only really played well in the last 20 minutes of the opening match against Laos U23 at the Southeast Asian U23 tournament. That was the time from the 72nd minute when Minh Quang overcame the Laos U23 defender to score a goal to raise the score to 2-1, until the 90+3rd minute when Vi Hao scored from close range to seal a 4-1 victory for coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team.

70 minutes earlier, U.23 Vietnam was an out-of-sync symphony. Despite possessing a superior force with nearly half of the team having just fought at the SEA Games (Van Chuan, Duy Cuong, Quoc Viet, Van Truong, Van Khang), U.23 Vietnam could not overwhelm U.23 Laos. Apart from Van Khang, who was a rare bright spot with his breakthroughs to pass the ball to create assists on the wing, the remaining players coordinated disjointedly and could not find a common voice.

U.23 Vietnam had a smooth start

In defense, Nguyen Hoang, Duy Cuong and Manh Hung were all "disorganized" when they first played together in the U.23 Vietnam team. Nguyen Hoang and Manh Hung played impressively at the 2023 U.20 Asian Cup when playing in the counter-attacking defense system of U.20 Vietnam. However, when coach Hoang Anh Tuan changed the playing style to ball control, requiring the central defenders to circulate the ball smoothly and coordinate well with the midfielders, the U.23 Vietnam defense made mistakes.

"During the match, the players sometimes lost focus. The U.23 Vietnam midfield is still very young, so in this match, they made mistakes and did not control well. Making mistakes is normal because they are young," coach Hoang Anh Tuan shared.

However, the biggest flaw of U.23 Vietnam coached by Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan is somewhat similar to U.22 Vietnam at SEA Games 32, which is that the players have not been able to control the tempo of the game. In the match against U.23 Laos, U.23 Vietnam pressured the opponent in the first half with frequent wing attacks, combined with high-level pressing to win the ball and organize quick attacks.

But in the second half, when they could no longer maintain the intensity of their attacks, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's students let U.23 Laos regain control of the game, continuously attacking Van Chuan's goal. In the second half, U.23 Vietnam could not control the tempo, allowing their opponents to equalize and play aggressively. It was not until the last 20 minutes, when experienced attackers such as Xuan Tien, Phi Hoang, and Vi Hao entered the field, that U.23 Vietnam pressed back and scored 3 goals in a row.

Players need to keep a cool head.

With a squad of young, strong and technically skilled players, U.23 Vietnam can play at a high intensity for most of the match. However, the key to controlling play is cohesion and the ability to distribute physical strength and focus on keeping the rhythm of the game, which Van Truong and his teammates have not fully grasped.

U.23 Vietnam sometimes attacked fiercely, sometimes slowed down, reducing the tempo to regulate their physical strength as well as lure their opponents into traps. But during the "slow down" period mentioned above, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's students could not control well. The players could not keep the cool head needed to play moderately, allowing their opponents to regain control of the game.

"I told the players to try to control the ball. I have only had one or two full working sessions with the team. We have one goal, which is to control the ball. Because we are stronger, we must control the ball and the chances will come. If U.23 Vietnam cannot control the ball, we cannot play. The whole team needs to control the ball to execute their playing style," coach Hoang Anh Tuan shared.

Ball control style of play cannot be formed overnight, especially with a young squad of players who are not uniform in terms of technique and tactics, many of whom rarely have the chance to compete in major tournaments like the squad that coach Hoang Anh Tuan possesses. The fastest way to learn a lesson is to enter "real combat", have to compete, recognize mistakes and then correct them.

The advantage for U.23 Vietnam is that coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team did not face too strong opponents in the group stage, so they can win even though they are not perfect. But in the next round, facing tough opponents will require U.23 Vietnam to focus and make more efforts.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-hoang-anh-tuan-xan-tay-va-loi-cho-u23-viet-nam-185230821151755092.htm