With three straight, fairly easy wins under their belt, the Vietnamese team face a serious test in Monday’s semifinal match of the U19 Southeast Asian football championship against Australia.

However, signs of vulnerability have also surfaced. The players can get tense and nervous very easily.

Against a tough rival like Myanmar, for example, the team seemed clueless about how to help themselves out and break the deadlock. They were helped by their opponents’ implosion that saw as many as four players sent off.

Without appropriate measures and strategies against the beefy Australians, the home team will be in trouble.

During the practice session Sunday, the coaching staff had the players practice aerial tussles.

Coach Vo Hoang Buu said, “My players will try to have more possession of the ball and be proactive rather than reactive.

“However, it will be very hard because the Australians are taller. The three victories in the group stage would be nothing if we can’t win this semifinal match.

“It’s necessary to avoid tackling the Australian rivals near the penalty area because their free kicks are deadly.”

Vietnam still pins its hopes on midfielders Van Quyet and Quoc Phuong and strikers Dinh Bao and Minh Tuan.

Australia didn’t play very well in the group stage where they drew with Thailand and Singapore and only beat Cambodia; yet the socceroos are likely to show a different face in the semis.

A berth in the finals will be contingent on successfully keeping Aussie strikers Peter Franjic and Eli Babaj at bay.

The other semifinal clash will pit Thailand against Malaysia.

Reported by Quang Huy