Coach Gong Oh-kyun believes that U23 Vietnam will perform well in the AFC U23 Championship

Practice match between U23 Vietnam and the host U23 UAE is held in secret, without the cooperation of the press. This is also the last practice of both teams before flying to Uzbekistan to compete in the 2022 AFC U23 Championship.

With the nature of the friendly match, coach Gong Oh-kyun arranged two different lineups for the two rounds, with a 4-3-3 diagram.

Before a significantly stronger opponent, the U23 Vietnamese players lost with a score of 0-3, after 90 minutes of competition.

Evaluating the match, coach Gong Oh Kyun said: “Today, Vietnam U23 players performed well. Before the 31st SEA Games took place, we gathered and worked together for a while. After the SEA Games, the team reunited and practiced together. Although it was only a few days of training together, what the players showed was beyond my expectations. I have high hopes for the performance of the players in the upcoming matches.”

“I rate the players who played very well. No one is bad at this game. They did a good job, the role for which I tested them. I believe the ability of the players will be demonstrated more clearly in the upcoming 2022 AFC U23 Championship.” The Korean strategist praised the performance of his students.

Referring to the use of a 4-3-3 formation, coach Gong Oh-kyun said: “I do not want to mention much about the 4-3-3 strategy that I used for U23 Vietnam. I recognize that my level of player has the ability to play such a comprehensive football. I believe that is the right strategy for U23 Vietnam. I hope the players will perform even better in the future.

Although my players are very young. But I believe their ability is enough to score in the upcoming matches at the AFC U23 Championship 2022. I trust them. In the next period of time, they will improve much more. I don’t want to miss a single Vietnamese striker. I will give them a chance to play more.”

Coach Gong Oh-kyun continued: “There is really no problem for me at all. I have been an assistant to many teams, to many places and to many coaches. I have the experience to work with players and talk to them. I believe in my ability enough to talk directly with them and help players develop more.

I also received a lot of help from VFF and many people around. Coach Park Hang Seo and assistant Lee Young Jin also shared with me their experience and useful information about U23 Vietnam before parting. I didn’t worry much about being a head coach for the first time. I prepared a lot for this role.”

After this match, U23 Vietnam will take a flight to Uzbekistan, and be present at the host of the AFC U23 Championship 2022 at noon on May 29 local time.

According to the match schedule, U23 Vietnam will face Thailand U23 in the opening match on 2/6. After 3 days, Nham Manh Dung and his teammates will face South Korea U23 on June 5 before playing the last match of the group stage against Malaysia U23 on June 8.

Some pictures of the friendly match between U23 Vietnam vs U23 UAE:

Video U23 Vietnam 1-0 U23 Thailand: 31st SEA Games Finals

Vinh Tuong