In this friendly match, coach Hoang Anh Tuan used the starting lineup including Quang Truong (goalkeeper), Nguyen Hoang, Duc Anh, Manh Hung, Van Cuong, Van Khang, Duc Phu, Van Truong, Thanh Nhan, Quoc Viet and Wei Hao. On the other side of the front line, the “green army” Dubai City FC came out with a lineup of many foreign players with very tall bodies.
In front of an opponent with outstanding physique, U20 Vietnam showed confidence in entering the game. However, in a situation to block the opponent’s attack, Van Khang fouled Georg Dunkley in the penalty area and Chrishomlm Brown easily beat goalkeeper Quang Truong on the 11m mark.
After this goal, U20 Vietnam increased the attack pressure and completely dominated the game. Under the pressure of coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s students, the Dubai City FC players were forced to retreat to the home field to support. Besides, with the advantage of owning a pair of Australian and Ghanaian central defenders with very good height, Dubai City FC also solves quite easily the high balls of U20 Vietnam.
However, with the flexibility in approaching the goal, U20 Vietnam gradually created clear scoring opportunities. In the middle of the first half, Duc Phu had a very favorable opportunity after a coordinated phase from the edge and was released by his teammates in the middle, but the midfielder finished the ball narrowly away from the goal. At the end of the first half, Van Cuong passed goalkeeper Saurav Karki but ended up sending the ball wide when the Dubai City FC goal was empty.
In the second half, coach Hoang Anh Tuan made a series of adjustments when bringing Xuan Tien, Dinh Bac … to the field to help U20 Vietnam continue to dominate the game on the field. Before the high pressing game of U20 Vietnam, the home team was forced to play aggressively to limit the attack power of U20 Vietnam. Notably, in a foul in the 69th minute, George Dunkley was sent off with a red card, but coach Hoang Anh Tuan asked Dubai City FC to continue using 11 players for U20 Vietnam to test.
With a full-fledged opponent, U20 Vietnam still fully owns it. But on a poor day of scoring, Hoang Anh Tuan’s army could not take advantage of delicious situations to convert into goals. In the 70th minute, Dinh Bac had an empty ball but the shot was unsuccessful. Thanh Nhan, Van Khang … also had the opportunity to try their hand at scoring, but were still powerless in front of the host’s goal. In the end, U20 Vietnam lost with a close score of 0-1.
At the end of the match against Dubai City FC, teacher and coach Hoang Anh Tuan continued to stay in the UAE for 2 more days to practice. On February 26, the whole team will move to Uzbekistan to compete in the 2023 AFC U20 Championship, which will take place from March 1 to March 18. Vietnam U20 team is in Group B with Iran, Australia and Qatar U20 teams. In the opening match, U20 Vietnam will meet Australia (March 1), followed by Qatar (March 4) and Iran (March 7).