U19 Vietnam-U19 Thailand: Honours rematch

* Vietnam-Thailand: Friday 7 May, 15:30, on Metasports.

Also scored higher in the semi-finals, but Vietnam and Thailand suddenly fell without a goal. The teachers and students of coach Dinh The Nam fell into a counter-attack trap and lost 3-0 to Malaysia. Thailand conceded early against Laos, couldn't get up and lost 2-0. Therefore, the third prize competition is an opportunity for Vietnam and Thailand to regain their face and use victory as a gift to thank the fans.

In the group stage, Vietnam and Thailand drew 1-1 in a match in which both barely wanted to score in the final minutes, as the result was enough to advance to the last four. The performance of Vietnam and Thailand was subsequently severely criticized by Indonesia. The host country believes that the two competitors have no spirit of fair competition and even show signs of reconciliation.

Indonesia's criticism has partly affected the psychology of young players in Vietnam and Thailand. They lost their inherent level in the semi-finals and missed the chance to compete for the title. This is not surprising in youth tournaments, where players often fail to maintain their mentality and rhythm throughout the game.

After losing to Malaysia, the students of coach Dinh The Nam will learn a lot from experience. They need to save chances better, and at the same time, they must keep their formation distance and avoid being used by opponents when fighting back. Individual errors, such as Hoang Canh's in the third goal, are not allowed to happen again.

Thailand also had a lot of problems in the game, especially in defense. That was laid bare in the group stages before they lost early in the semi-final against Laos. The Golden Temple team can't impose the style of play, and is often beaten in the face by Lao speed players. That's something Vietnam can draw on in their rematch this afternoon. In the group stage, Vietnam's only goal also came after the fast defensive stage of Thailand's defense.

Laos, under the leadership of national team coach Michael Weiss, maintained a reasonable defensive and counter-attacking strategy from the beginning of the game. They face their first chance to lift the Southeast Asian U19 title. Malaysia reached the final for the fourth time in a row. In their last three races, they were crowned once in 2018, also in Indonesia.