Quoc Viet, Viktor Le need to be more confident
U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Laos 3-0 in the opening match of the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship. This result helped the team temporarily lead Group B and have many advantages to qualify for the semi-finals.
However, the performance of the U23 Vietnam attack has not been able to reassure coach Kim Sang-sik. In particular, the striker positions of Nguyen Quoc Viet and Viktor Le have not achieved the expected results.
Statistics show that U23 Vietnam controlled the ball up to 80% with 20 shots towards the Laos U23 goal. However, the attack line only had 8 shots on target towards goalkeeper Lokphathip's goal.
In addition, the number of times Quoc Viet and Viktor Le have won the championship is also quite modest. The most dangerous attacks on the U23 Vietnam side came from wingers and central defenders. Among them, Khuat Van Khang and central defender Nguyen Hieu Minh are the ones who have registered their names on the scoreboard.
After the match, coach Kim Sang-sik reassured the fans: "Everyone who shines deserves to be praised. The result of the team is the most important thing".
Mr. Kim's sharing is not wrong, but it is certain that in the next training sessions, the Korean coach and his assistants will focus on training the target measures for the home team's main spearheads.
For their part, Quoc Viet and Viktor Le need to be more confident and handle it boldly. Against Laos' two-layered defense, the two young strikers were indecisive in holding the ball and organizing a breakthrough.
The usual situations of Quoc Viet (final) and Viktor Le (final) are still receiving the ball in a turned-on position, coordinating one touch for Van Khang, Dinh Bac or Ngoc My to penetrate the penalty area.
The loop of combinations was quite awkward, causing U23 Vietnam to be caught by their opponents. If they had not been more proficient in the penalty shootout situations, the "Golden Star Warriors" would not have likely drilled through the tightly organized defense from the team from the land of the Three Lions.
On television, former player Quang Long emphasized that the strikers of U23 Vietnam need to be more determined in the breakthrough.
In the context of the Lao defender not being strong in technique or physique to compete in a one-on-one match with high intensity and continuously, the situations of going the ball straight into the penalty area from Viktor Le or Quoc Viet promise to create many breakthroughs for the U23 Vietnam attack.
Exploit more from corner kicks
In the context that the U23 Vietnam striker needs to improve more, the attack from corner kicks is somewhat effective. 2/3 of the home team's goals came from corner kicks on the left wing.
In the 71st minute, Hieu Minh headed the ball into the net after a pass as Dinh Bac had placed. 12 minutes later, also from a similar situation, the PVF-CAND central defender swung his leg and sent the ball into the Laos U23 net.
This is not the first time corner kicks have become a viable option for Vietnamese teams under coach Kim Sang-sik.
From the 2024 ASEAN Cup to the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnamese team scored 28 goals and 4 of them came from corner kicks.
If U23 Indonesia continuously exploits long-range throw-ins, the fact that U23 Vietnam has the advantage of corners is also commendable.
Vietnam cannot always impose a playing style on the opponent and of course, corner kicks will be a harmful weapon to break the deadlock for Mr. Kim Sang-sik's students.
