After a 3-0 victory over U19 Timor Leste in the opening match, U19 Vietnam will continue to face U19 Myanmar with the goal of maintaining an advantage in the race to win a ticket to the semi-finals of the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 Championship.
The favorable result on the opening day not only helped coach Yutaka Ikeuchi's team get the first 3 points, but also created a positive psychological foundation before the more difficult challenges ahead.
Compared to U19 Timor Leste, U19 Myanmar is an opponent with higher professional quality. Despite losing 0-3 to host U19 Indonesia in the opening match, this team still showed many bright spots in their playing style.
U19 Myanmar played fiercely, maintained high intensity of movement and were ready to compete in all areas of the field. Against the home team, they created 6 shots, not too different from the opponent's 8 shots. This shows that Myanmar still has the ability to put pressure and create opportunities if the opponent loses focus.
On the side of U19 Vietnam, the biggest problem after the victory over U19 Timor Leste was not the result but the ability to take advantage of opportunities. Despite scoring 3 goals, Mr. Yutaka Ikeuchi's students missed many favorable situations.
Even striker Cong Hau - who scored a hat-trick in the previous match - also had inaccurate finishes. Therefore, the coaching staff spent most of the time in recent training sessions to adjust the final handling and improve efficiency in attacking situations.
Another factor that could affect the match situation is that U19 Myanmar is forced to win after the defeat in the first round. Meaning that this team is likely to actively push up the squad to look for goals.
This may be an opportunity for U19 Vietnam to exploit the gap with quick transitions, which is a strength that was shown in the match against U19 Timor Leste.
In terms of force balance, cohesion in playing style as well as spirit, U19 Vietnam is being rated slightly higher. However, against an energetic opponent who is in a position to win, coach Yutaka Ikeuchi's team needs to maintain high concentration if they want to complete the goal of winning 3 more points to get closer to the semi-final ticket.
The match between U19 Vietnam and U19 Myanmar takes place at 4:00 p.m. today (June 4).
