U23 Vietnam enters final match of AFF U23 Championship 2023
The Vietnamese U23 football team
As they approach tonight's final match, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team has prepared for a different goal: safeguarding the championship title. This undoubtedly poses a considerable challenge for Vietnamese U23 football players.
Advancing to this ultimate match, the Vietnamese U23 team excelled over U23 Laos with a score of 4-1, triumphed against U23 Philippines with a 1-0 score, and in the recent semifinal encounter, they clinched a commanding 4-1 victory against U23 Malaysia. Although Coach Hoang Anh Tuan recently shared his partial dissatisfaction with his players' performance, the performance of the young Vietnamese players in the past three matches has fulfilled the expectations.
During the group stage, the coaching staff shuffled the two starting lineups. In the match against U23 Philippines, eight main positions were altered compared to the match against U23 Laos. In the semifinal against U23 Malaysia, the starting lineup continued to see changes and operate smoothly, proved by an impressive victory against U23 Malaysia.
Even with frequent lineup rotations, the team functions seamlessly, highlighting the impressive depth of the current Vietnamese U23 squad. Notably, this is not even the most skilled U23 lineup, given that it includes up to 20 players from the U20 generation. Their uniformity, consistent performance, and current level of enthusiasm have the Vietnamese U23 players well-prepared to carry on their success against U23 Indonesia in the final match – a formidable opponent acknowledged as a significant challenge.
U23 Indonesia experienced a challenging group stage. They suffered a 1-2 defeat to U23 Malaysia in their opening match, followed by a hard-fought 1-0 victory against U23 Timor-Leste. They were able to secure a spot in the semifinals for being superior in comparison to U23 Philippines and U23 Cambodia when considering the second team in the group with the best result. Nevertheless, in the semifinal clash against U23 Thailand, the U23 Indonesia players demonstrated a remarkable turnaround.
U23 Vietnam football team strives to defend the championship title.
They played with enthusiasm and demonstrated disciplined tactics to outperform U23 Thailand not only in terms of the score (3-1) but also in their composed psychological approach to the game. After facing difficulties in the group stage and then delivering an energetic performance in the semifinal, U23 Indonesia is emerging as a formidable opponent for Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team in the final match. With their recent victory in the men's football event of the 32nd SEA Games, U23 Indonesia is now striving for a dual victory in this year's regional competition for young football players.
When comparing the teams' strengths, U23 Indonesia appears to hold a slight edge over Vietnamese players in terms of physical fitness and experience. Despite the fact that many U23 Vietnamese players recently took part in the 32nd SEA Games, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's expectation is that almost half of the team's strength is drawn from players who are actively involved in the main lineups of the V-League and the V.League 2. Experience and being in peak condition are the aspects he holds the most hope for in the match against U23 Indonesia tonight, on August 26.
The final match of the 2023 AFF U23 Championship between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia will be broadcast live on VTV5 at 8:00 p.m. on August 26.
Prediction: U23 Vietnam will defeat U23 Indonesia with a score of 2-1.
By Quoc Cuong – Translated by Da Nguyet