5 highlights after the first two rounds of AFF Cup 2018
Fox Sports newspaper said that the AFF Cup is becoming more and more attractive with intense competition, after two group stage rounds.
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Laos almost caused a surprise against Malaysia. Photo:AFF |
The skill gap is narrowing.
While the big names like Thailand and Vietnam won overwhelmingly as expected in the first round, teams that were not considered as the championship candidates still had an influence in the tournament. For example, in the match between Myanmar and Cambodia, where the home team was rated much higher. They won 4-1 on aggregate, but Cambodia took the lead from the 23rd to the 60th minute.
Similarly, Timor Leste travelled to the fiery Bung Karno and held Indonesia to a draw in the first half. Just three minutes after the break, the visitors even took the lead through a superb long-range strike from Rufino Walter Gama. Indonesia had to adjust and were rewarded with three goals, helping them win 3-1 in the second leg.
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Thailand (blue shirt) accelerated right from the start. Photo:AFF. |
Thailand still dominates
The defending champions got off to a dream start by crushing Timor Leste 7-0. Furthermore, striker Adisak Kraisorn scored six goals in 53 minutes and almost broke the record of Noh Alam Shah - the Singapore striker who scored seven goals against Laos in the 2007 AFF Cup.
The opening victory of coach Milovan Rajevac and his team was even more impressive when Indonesia struggled to beat Timor Leste in the second round. Thailand is aiming to become the first team to win the AFF Cup three times in a row.
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Singapore (red shirt) promises to cause more surprises at the tournament. Photo:AFF. |
Singapore impresses
Despite only having three points after two matches, the island nation team has shown two commendable performances. Leaving behind two forgettable AFF Cups where they were eliminated in the group stage, Singapore started the match by beating Indonesia at home. Most of their players made an impression on the fans.
In their away match in the Philippines four days later, Singapore played solidly and almost came away with a point. But a goal conceded in the final minutes ruined coach Fandi Ahmad’s plan. Singapore’s chance to advance is still wide open.
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Indonesia (white shirt) has only three points and ahead of them are Thailand and the Philippines. Photo:Detik. |
Indonesia needs to try harder
The island nation’s football team always enters regional tournaments with the goal of winning the championship. That partly creates pressure, causing them to not win the AFF Cup despite playing five finals. At this year’s AFF Cup, internal conflicts have caused Indonesia to have a rough start.
They played poorly and lost to Singapore despite being rated higher, then had to come from behind to win against Timor Leste. Indonesia still has a chance as the race in Group B is still tense, although they have to travel to Thailand in the next match.
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Philippines' victory over Singapore makes Group B's situation even more unpredictable. Photo:ST. |
Group B is worthy of the name of death
When the group results were announced, the public was waiting for Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines to compete for the two tickets to the next round. They were not disappointed when the four strong teams all had three points after the first two rounds, although Thailand and the Philippines had only played one match.
If they all get three points from Timor Leste, the Thailand-Indonesia, Philippines-Thailand, Thailand-Singapore and Indonesia-Philippines matches will be nothing more than the "final" matches of the group.
