Vietnam – Yemen: Decoding the challenges in the Asian U23 qualifiers
* Vietnam – Yemen: 6:00 p.m. Saturday, September 9, on MetaSports.
Vietnam defeated Guam 6-0, and Yemen defeated Singapore 3-0 on the opening day. This result coincides with pre-tournament predictions when identifying the West Asian representative as the most annoying opponent for coach Philippe Troussier and his team.
Against Guam, Vietnam completely controlled the game with the ball almost circulating on the opponent's field. Six goals is still small compared to the number of opportunities created against a weak opponent in many aspects. The match is considered a time for the home players to hone their attack. Yemen is different.
The easing of the domestic crisis is also the time when Yemeni football is more stable. They possess the characteristics of West Asian football: physical strength, speed and focus on attacking the edge. Against Singapore, Yemen had a time to give up the counter-attack, taking advantage of the speed of Hamzah Hanash and Hussein Sadam. Vietnam also has to pay attention to number 10 Ahmed Maher - who is considered the conductor of the opponent's ball rotation.
Tonight's match will likely take place with a scenario where Yemen defends and counterattacks and cedes control to the host. Troussier's players can hold the ball well, but their focus on counter-attacking needs to be maintained throughout the 90 minutes, especially when the two full-backs often rise high to help stretch the opposing team.
A victory over Yemen will help Vietnam have six points to put one hand on a ticket to the 2024 U23 Asian finals. At that time, the team will be mentally at ease, just need to tie with Singapore - the opponent who lost 1-3 in the Asian Cup. SEA Games 32 group stage - in the last round is definitely the best in the group.
If they win against Yemen and Singapore draws or loses to Guam in the second match, Vietnam will definitely top the group one round early, because the U23 Asia 2024 qualifiers will determine rankings by head-to-head difference.
In the case of a draw with Yemen, Vietnam is still the best in the group with a goal difference of +6 compared to the opponent's +3. But the tension will last until the final round with the goal of scoring many goals against Singapore.
