5 key takeaways from the Vietnam - Jordan match.
(Baonghean.vn) - The Vietnamese national team deservedly defeated Jordan in their first match of the Asian Cup Round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals. Let's review the key highlights of this match.
1.Enter the game with confidence.
The Vietnamese team caught Jordan by surprise for the first 10 minutes of the match. The confident and fluid ball handling of the midfield, along with the alertness of the defense, made it very difficult for the West Asian team to get close to Van Lam's goal.
During that period, the Vietnamese national team also created opportunities that caught the Jordan defense off guard. These included Cong Phuong's run after a pass from Quang Hai, as well as Van Hau's confident long-range shot…
2.Jordan pushed forward and scored.
Jordan's aggressive approach after the initial exploratory minutes proved effective. The West Asian team was particularly strong in their attacks down the flanks. In one such instance, Do Hung Dung fouled the opposing striker near the penalty area on the left wing of Jordan's attack. Rahman made no mistake with a near-perfect shot that left goalkeeper Van Lam completely unable to react.
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| Jordan took the lead after pushing their lines forward. Photo: AFF |
3.Cong Phuong's goal and an explosive second half.
The Vietnamese national team was forced to play offensively in the second half, and in the 51st minute, we scored the equalizer, making it 1-1. Cong Phuong made a very clever run. He received a superb pass from Trong Hoang on the wing and tapped the ball into the net from close range, beating veteran goalkeeper Amer Shafi.
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| Cong Phuong scored the equalizer early in the second half. Photo: AFF |
The goal acted like a stimulant, helping the Vietnamese national team play more alertly and explosively. One after another, Quang Hai, Do Hung Dung, Tien Linh… all missed extremely regrettable opportunities.
Match statistics show that the Vietnamese team controlled the ball 58% of the time, while Jordan only had 42%. This was clearly demonstrated in the second half when the Vietnamese players were forced to push forward, while Jordan did not dare to advance and only used ineffective long balls.
4.Confidence in the penalty shootout.
Jordan missed two penalties in the tense shootout that decided the winner. It seemed the West Asian players couldn't control their emotions. Their shots were powerful but lacked accuracy. Seif hit the crossbar on his second penalty, while Saleh failed to deceive Dang Van Lam on his third.
On the Vietnamese side, only Minh Vương missed his penalty. The remaining players successfully completed their tasks with truly astonishing composure.
5.Hero Dang Van Lam
The Maung Thong United goalkeeper had a very alert game. Except for the moment he was beaten by Rahman's superb free-kick that opened the scoring, Van Lam was consistently alert in his positioning throughout the match. He and the Vietnamese national team's defense effectively thwarted all of the West Asian team's counter-attacks.
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| Van Lam was the hero in the penalty shootout, opening the door to the quarter-finals for the Vietnamese national team. Photo: AFF |
And of course, we can't forget the moment when Van Lam played the hero in the penalty shootout. Lam "the foreigner" dived perfectly to brilliantly save Saleh's shot, opening the door to the quarterfinals for the Vietnamese national team.
