Anh Đức

JEDDAH — The Việt Nam under-23s team could not replicate the 'Miracle of Changzhou', after losing 0-3 to China in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

A devastating injury to key defender Nguyễn Hiểu Minh was the first domino to fall that led to Việt Nam's eventual defeat.

China found two goals in quick succession in the second half courtesy of Peng Xiao and Xiang Yuwang, before Wang Yudong capped it off with the third goal, with Phạm Lý Đức receiving a red card in between.

Supporters on social media expressed relief after China eliminated Uzbekistan on penalties to meet up with Việt Nam in the semi-final.

China had two striking statistics from this tournament: they only scored one goal before this match and that they had never conceded.

And while the first statistic set up grounds for complacency, the second one created doubts.

Antonio Puche's China team was different from the starting line-up he fielded in the quarters.

Six new players in midfield and defence brought a fresh wave in attack.

And contrary to the fans' belief that China would stick with playing a low-block defensive game against Việt Nam, they did the exact opposite (ironically playing like Việt Nam did against the UAE) by holding on to possession and actively seek opportunities in attack.

It was only because of dismal finishing in the final third by China that kept Việt Nam in the tie for the first half, but it was plain to something was surprisingly off for the Golden Star Warriors.

The approach by Kim Sang-sik to the match was an incorrect choice, and a dip in form by the players, specifically for Nguyễn Lê Phát, and to a certain extent defensive midfielder Nguyễn Xuân Bắc, created a Việt Nam side that lacked the tempo and the necessary calmness in play that we see so very often during the tournament,

This lack of temperament cost them dearly. 

A pivotal moment came in the 30th minute, as Xiang Yuwang tried to recover a ball that was near the touchline.

Nguyễn Hiểu Minh raced to the ball and tried to intercept it, but instead of simply just shielding the ball, the defender tried to draw a foul from Yuwang.

The move backfired completely, as the contact to Hiểu Minh's knee was severe, which eventually led to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Minh sobbed as he was left the pitch and headed straight to the hospital, with his coach Kim shaking his head in disbelief. Had Minh be more patient, he might have avoided the nasty injury.

It was evident after Hiểu Minh's injury that the centre-back was crucial in organising the defence. His replacement, Nguyễn Đức Anh, failed to cover the role.

The loss of Minh also created problems in playing out from the back and exposed mistakes from Minh's defence partner, Lý Đức.

Just after the second half started, Lý Đức almost scored an own goal after miscommunication with goalkeeper Trần Trung Kiên. Kiên was able to parry the ball for a corner, but from the corner kick, Peng Xiao scored with a bizarre header to open the score for China.

Nguyễn Đình Bắc, who was brought on in the second half with hopes that he could rescue the game for the men in red again, could not replicate his magic in the match.

As Việt Nam failed to regain composure in possession and attack, they conceded an inevitable second goal when Yuwang, after a great counter, had all the time and space in the world to pull of a spectacular shot into Trung Kiên's net from just outside the box.

In the 73rd minute, Việt Nam seemed to have conceded a third goal after Lý Đức's failed clearance rebounded off Peng Xiao's shoulder and went into the back of the net.

The goal, however, was disallowed after VAR showed that Li Zhenquan was offside and was directly involved in the play.

However, during the chaos after Peng Xiao's goal celebration, Lý Đức, out of frustration, hit Behram Abduweli in the face, right in front of referee Alex King.

The Australian official had no choice but to issue a straight red card to Việt Nam's defender, and Kim Sang-sik's starting centre backs were now both out of the match.

What's the keyword again here? Temperament.

With ten men, two goals down and a lack of composure and connection during play, as well as an unfit Đình Bắc, the order was too tall for Kim Sang-sik and his team to perform the magical comeback, just as they once did in the SEA Games final against Thailand.

However, captain Khuất Văn Khang and his teammates still pushed on forward, hoping for a miracle. The methodical, practical and clever defense by the Chinese however, did not give the men in red a slight chance.

Exposed at the back, having gone two upfront with a man down, Việt Nam conceded a third goal in the eighth minute of added time courtesy of Yudong, after Abduweili capitalised on a counter.

"We predicted a rotation in China's starting eleven," said coach Kim in the post-match press conference.

"We could have had a better response but failed, and that is my fault as head coach.

"I was not happy of the players' pressing and passing during the first half, and in the second half we built a plan for a comeback but the injuries and a lack of concentration during set pieces led to the team going behind."

A sad Trần Trung Kiên, on the verge of tears, apologised to fans for in the post match interview.

"China played entirely different compared to past games," said Việt Nam's goalkeeper, "they deserved to win."

With this result, Antonio Puche's China will head to Chinese football's first ever continental youth final against favourites Japan on Saturday, while Kim Sang-sik and the Việt Nam U23s will face South Korea for the bronze medal. — VNS