U.23 Vietnam is not perfect, where does Mr. Troussier fix it?

The 1-0 victory over U.23 Yemen helped U.23 Vietnam secure a ticket to the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals one match early. Thanks to that, coach Philippe Troussier and his team can relieve pressure, aiming to play the final match of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round, against U.23 Singapore with a relaxed mindset.

Fortunately, the shortcomings in playing style and performance have not cost Coach Troussier's team. Despite some "mistakes" in the way they operate their tactics, U.23 Vietnam still won all the matches, earning 6 points and a ticket to the final round.

Of course, U.23 Vietnam not only has the task of passing the qualifying round, but Mr. Troussier's team also aims for the final round with a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Or further, this is a "buffer zone" for the coaching staff to train talents, in order to build a successor force for the Vietnam team.

U.23 Việt Nam chưa hoàn thiện, ông Troussier sửa từ đâu? - Ảnh 1. — U.23 Vietnam won with difficulty

In the long-term plan that the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and Coach Troussier set out for young players, results in youth competitions are only a reference for relative evaluation. The performance of the players and the development path of their football skills are the important criteria for evaluating success. Looking at this aspect, U.23 Vietnam is a team that is lacking.

In the two matches against U.23 Guam and U.23 Yemen, Coach Troussier remained loyal to the squad that accompanied him to the 32nd SEA Games. Compared to the tournament in Cambodia, in this U.23 Asian qualifier, the coaching staff of U.23 Vietnam has not yet found any new faces.

The squad still includes familiar names such as Ngoc Thang, Quang Thinh, Duy Cuong, Tuan Tai in defense, Minh Trong, Van Cuong, Duc Phu on the wing, Thai Son in midfield, and Van Do, Thanh Nhan, Van Tung in attack.

On the bench, Van Khang and Vi Hao are old faces, only Dinh Bac is a truly "strange" player compared to the previous training period.

The way he used people on one hand shows coach Troussier's caution in only trusting a group of fixed players and being relatively reserved with newcomers, but on the other hand also raises questions about his playing style.

U.23 Việt Nam chưa hoàn thiện, ông Troussier sửa từ đâu? - Ảnh 2. — Minh Trong has been assigned a starting position since SEA Games 32 until now.

With the players considered the best, U.23 Vietnam still cannot operate a style of play with a clear shape and direction. This is clearly a problem, showing that after 6 months of training and competition, Coach Troussier's students still have not "absorbed" the philosophy of ball control.

The names that the French coach trusts the most, such as Van Do (played all 8 official matches from SEA Games 32 until now), Van Tung, Thanh Nhan, Thai Son, Minh Trong, Tuan Tai, all only played at a moderate level, if not to say they did not fully meet professional requirements.

Meanwhile, the faces that have shown a lot in previous youth tournaments such as Van Khang, Quoc Viet, Vi Hao are either on the reserve team or not called up due to unsuitability.

Each coach has his own tactical perspective and requirements, which entails choosing players who can meet those requirements. However, the fact that the U.23 Vietnam team has only revolved around 12 to 15 players for more than half a year under Mr. Troussier's leadership and that group of players themselves have not proven much, that is the worrying problem that the "White Witch" and his students face.

Responding after the victory over U.23 Yemen, Coach Troussier stated that to improve U.23 Vietnam, the key still lies in the players. He emphasized: "We need to further improve the quality of players on the field. To smooth the playing style, U.23 Vietnam needs to strengthen the capacity of each player."

U.23 Việt Nam chưa hoàn thiện, ông Troussier sửa từ đâu? - Ảnh 3. — Will coach Troussier make adjustments in the final match?

However, the coaching staff of U.23 Vietnam should pay attention to a statistic: 6 out of 7 goals scored by the team in the 2024 U.23 Asian qualifiers came in the second half, of which 4 were scored by players coming off the bench. U.23 Vietnam won thanks to flexible adjustments in the match, which is the unique feature of Mr. Troussier.

However, it took constant adjustments and substitutions to score a goal, meaning that the initial strategy (with the best 11 players) of U.23 Vietnam still had many problems. Controlling the ball a lot but lacking decisive passes with enough lethality, lacking players to control the rhythm, lacking players to break through, creating a dislocation in the opponent's defense.

It was all just a monotonous, monotonous symphony lacking in emphasis, with the decisive note being played by "musicians" whom Mr. Troussier had no faith in from the start.

In the match against U.23 Singapore, U.23 Vietnam can experiment and change the lineup to find new ideas. Coach Troussier needs to create competition and be bolder with the reserve players. U.23 Vietnam still has a lot to do, and today's ticket to the next round is just the beginning.

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