Coach Dinh Hong Vinh orders 'tear the net' against Philippines: Vietnam U23's finishing problem at Asiad 2026

The Nagoya City Minato Stadium is expected to welcome a wet afternoon on September 18, where Vietnam U23 steps into what is considered an 'early final' of Group C at the 2026 Asian Games. After a frustrating 1-1 draw against Kuwait, the coaching staff made decisive adjustments in the September 16 training session under heavy rain. The problem for Coach Dinh Hong Vinh's side does not lie in chance creation, but in converting those chances into goals – more precisely, 'tearing the net' of the Philippines to gain an advantage before the final group match against Uzbekistan. The group situation has pushed Vietnam U23 into a must-win position. Uzbekistan demonstrated superior strength with a 5-1 victory over the Philippines, temporarily leading Group C with 3 points and a +4 goal difference. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Kuwait both have 1 point after their 1-1 draw. The Philippines sits at the bottom of the group with 0 points. This scenario means an unfavorable result against the group's weakest team would force Vietnam U23 into a direct confrontation with Uzbekistan – a team showing dominant class in the group stage. Based on my experience following matches across multiple Asian Games editions, I recognize that Vietnam U23's finishing issue is not a random story. Against Kuwait, the team created numerous chances but only found the net once. The rain-soaked training session on September 16 not only refined individual technique but also signaled that the coaching staff is paying special attention to 'capitalizing on opportunities and finishing efficiency'. On a slippery surface, short combinations through the middle become high-risk; conversely, long balls, wide crosses, and second-ball situations become far more potent weapons. The tactical blind spot lies in the Philippines' reaction. After their 1-5 defeat to Uzbekistan, they will likely drop deep and build a dense defensive block around their box rather than pushing forward for an open game. This is a completely different scenario from the Kuwait match, where Vietnam U23 had space to deploy their attacking intentions. When the opponent accepts ceding the game, Vietnam U23's mission is no longer to carve through the middle, but to stretch the Philippines' shape wide and exploit set pieces to the fullest. Football and esports only differ on the surface, the underlying systems all flow according to the same rules – in a match where individual technique is diminished by rain, the team that controls the area between the penalty spot and the second-ball zones will make the decisive difference. From a spatial perspective, Vietnam U23's 'spatial pressure' unit in the Kuwait match showed they occupied the final third well, but the placement of their finishing attempts lacked the required sharpness. Space is currency, pressure is interest rate – creating many chances without converting them is like a solid investment yielding zero profit. The pitch does not lie, only storytellers embellish. If we only look at the 1-1 scoreline, the media could brand Vietnam U23 as having a major problem. But data does not lie, yet it never tells stories either. The number of chances created against Kuwait is a positive signal about the operational phase – a pattern I have observed in many young Asian teams during sports festivals: they create plenty of chances but their conversion rate is far lower than their European counterparts at the same age. Coach Dinh Hong Vinh's 'tear the net' order is therefore not merely a motivational directive but a technical requirement: Vietnam U23's forwards must remain calm and clinical inside the 18-yard box. Psychological pressure is a variable that cannot be overlooked. In a match where media expectations are high, if Vietnam U23 fail to score within the first 30 minutes, anxiety can creep into every final decision. What worries me is not their ability to create chances, but whether these young players have enough composure to stick to the tactical plan when the score remains level. Transfers are a poker game, do not turn it into a puzzle – this saying also applies to how Vietnam U23 handles each attacking move: simple, direct, and decisive. The rainy training session on September 16 carries another signal: this could be the time the coaching staff experiments with a new attacking option, or adjusts the roles of one of the forwards. I do not see the future, I only read the structure of the present. The current structure shows Vietnam U23 needs a convincing win not only for points but also for goal difference – a factor that could prove decisive when compared with Kuwait on tiebreakers. Victory is just a data point, team culture is the entire dataset – and the culture Coach Dinh Hong Vinh is building is one of proactive attack, even when the opponent resorts to massed defence. In previous Asian Games editions, I have witnessed not a few Southeast Asian youth teams play excellently in the early stages, then collapse before physically stronger West Asian teams at the knockout stage. The difference often lies in the ability to close out matches. Vietnam U23 has already learned how to create space against Kuwait; now they need to learn how to decide a match against a Philippines side that may well park the bus in front of goal. The performance against the Philippines will provide our first answer about the true character of this U23 generation. Will they turn pressure into strength, or let opportunities slip away as they did against Kuwait? The rain in Nagoya will not hide anything.