U23 Vietnam: What did coach Kim Sang Sik get from the U23 Asia qualifiers?

U23 Vietnam winning a ticket to the U23 Asian tournament is not the only success of coach Kim Sang Sik after the qualifying round that just took place at Viet Tri Stadium...

Many successes

The three qualifying matches ended with satisfactory results: U23 Vietnam won all matches, without conceding a goal, earning a ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. This is also the 6th consecutive time that Vietnamese youth football has participated in the continent's number one playground, a guarantee for the stability of youth training.

For coach Kim Sang Sik, the achievement he just won is not just a ticket to continue, but also an affirmation of his next talent since taking office.

U23 Vietnam had a great success in terms of results.

In terms of personnel, except for the two reserve goalkeepers who have not had a chance to play, most of the players called up have been tested. The adjustments have brought positive signals: Minh Phuc played well when replacing Anh Quan in defense; Thanh Nhan, after many missed steps, also left his mark with the decisive goal against U23 Yemen.

And this is the basis to believe that Mr. Kim's personnel rotation process is on the right track, both creating depth of force and bringing confidence in healthy competition within the squad. It is a positive step forward for bigger goals - the immediate SEA Games and further the AFC U23 Championship in Saudi Arabia.

But more adjustments are needed

However, going into details, the shortcomings cannot be ignored. Apart from the performance of the strikers, the ability to launch attacks and creativity are the biggest limitations.

When facing opponents who play with a large defense like in the recent U23 Asian qualifiers at Viet Tri Stadium, the attacking options lack diversity, and are often deadlocked, forcing players to rely on individual moments instead of a coherent style of play.

But coach Kim Sang Sik still has a lot of work to do to make U23 Vietnam more perfect.

Some of Coach Kim’s experiments have not been convincing. For example, the arrangement of Van Khang to the right wing in the match against U23 Yemen prevented this player from promoting his strengths. Or letting Ngoc My play as the highest striker, although not too bad, the efficiency has not met expectations.

In addition, the untidy play of the attacking players often caused U23 Vietnam to lose the ball dangerously, leading to counter-attacks from the opponent. Fortunately, Yemen was not sharp enough to punish.

In addition, the issue of discipline also needs to be noted, typically with Duc Anh's trick against U23 Yemen, which could fool the referee in the regional arena, but when stepping out to the continent with the presence of VAR.

In short, the U23 Asian qualifiers have brought many bright spots, both in terms of results and personnel, helping coach Kim Sang Sik gain more confidence. But along with that are "hesitations" that cannot be ignored, requiring more drastic adjustments if U23 Vietnam really wants to reach the level of the continent.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/u23-viet-nam-hlv-kim-sang-sik-duoc-gi-tu-vong-loai-u23-chau-a-2441995.html