U23 Vietnam coached by caretaker Lee Young-jin applied a 5-4-1 formation in the friendly match against U23 Iraq, placing an emphasis on protecting the goal before seeking a goal.

In the first 15 minutes, Iraqis took control of the game, but Vietnamese defenders performed well, repelling all opponents’ attacks.   

Vietnamese men later gradually raised the tempo and their defensive and counter-attacking style caused their opponents’ pressing tactics in a deadlock. They even threatened goalkeeper Hassan Assi in some dangerous situations.

In the 18th minute, Van Do ventured down the left wing and then penetrated the penalty area before passing the ball to Bao Toan to finish. Unfortunately, Bao Toan’s shot caused no difficulty for the Iraqi goalkeeper.

Three minutes later, midfielder Muntadher Mohammed made a dangerous mistake with Tuan Tai. Initially, the referee intended to show a red card, but he later used a yellow card to warn the player.

U23 Vietnam fortunately avoided a goal in the 36th minute when Ahmed Omar made a right footed shot, but the ball hit Tran Quang Thinh’s feet, narrowly crossing the crossbar.

In the 58th minute, Vietnam carved out a scoring chance when Van Do crossed the ball very well from the right for Xuan Tu to bounce high and head close to the goal, but the ball went out. This was the best scoring chance of Vietnamese players in the match.

After 90 minutes, the two teams left the field with a 0-0 draw.