AFF Cup 2018: Scoring players in the first leg of the final match according to "Vietnamese standards"

From Fox Sport Asia’s perspective, the players who score goals are naturally at an advantage because goals are an integral part of football. Especially when Huy Hung and Duc Huy scored on the “hot pot” of Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur with more than 80,000 home fans.

High-point attack

Foreign newspapers give inaccurate scores to Vietnamese midfielders. Photo: Trung Kien

In the attack, Van Duc and Quang Hai still deserve 7/10, of course Duc Chinh has to be satisfied with 5/10 because he has converted 2 situations from "goals into opportunities". Mr. Park chose Duc Chinh because he did not play high balls, long balls and calculated the personnel for both the first and second leg, not because the Korean coach did not know the strengths and weaknesses of his students.

Many people saw Fox Sport Asia harshly giving the Nghe An player 5.5/10 points because of a situation facing goalkeeper Marlias, which did not result in a goal, not to mention 2 situations where the ball was lost at the end of the match for the opponent to counterattack. Two opportunities for teammates to score, according to FIFA standards, Van Duc did not count (indirectly scored), so according to Asian scoring style, player number 20 is not highly rated.

But clearly, in terms of importance, Quang Hai and Van Duc are having to carry the attack when their seniors Anh Duc, Van Quyet, and Cong Phuong are sitting on the bench. Van Duc's indirect opportunities or Quang Hai's assists that his teammates Duc Chinh and Tien Linh did not score, need to be recognized. To be more precise, we are judging by the "Made in Vietnam" standard, the need to move continuously to exhaust Van Duc is something that can be seen from the 75th minute.

Vietnam's midfield was inferior to the home team, not because we lost in holding and keeping the ball but because the opponent created many situations that could have resulted in goals. That is also the reason why Huy Hung and Duc Huy did not get higher scores, they attacked better than defended and let the central midfielders Mohamed Syame and Muhammad Akram dominate. It seems that from the 0-2 loss to the 2-2 draw, Malaysia's midfield did not change in personnel but the playing style changed a lot.

The two wingers Van Hau and Trong Hoang also let Safawi Rasid and Sumareh dominate. Van Hau, with his inexperience, could not completely block Mohamadou Sumareh, and Trong Hoang still had physical problems. Van Hau was at fault for the two goals conceded, but that was still a system error rather than 100% attributed to an individual, so the Hanoi player still deserved 5/10 points and it would be fairer if Trong Hoang got 6 points (Fox Sport Asia gave Van Hau 3.5 points and Trong Hoang 6 points).

This is the first time we have lost more than 1 goal in a match and of course the defense is the area that needs to be analyzed the most. Losing 2 goals from set pieces is unusual and Van Lam is the player that is analyzed the most. He did not play very well for 80 minutes but in the last 10 minutes, he jumped up to save the goal to help Vietnam maintain their advantage and at the same time he deserved a minus 6 point.

"Song Hai" is important

Van Duc and Duc Huy are in the top scoring group. Photo: AFF

Among the 3 central defenders, the pressure is on captain Ngoc Hai's shoulders because facing him is the mischievous player Zaquan Adha, from kicking the ball coldly, playing elbows to causing frustration for the visiting team's leader, all are in the Malaysian's calculations.

Ngoc Hai and Dinh Trong both played quite well, but because Syame was too excellent and captain Ngoc Hai indirectly made a mistake in commanding the defense of the area, the Nghe An boy only got 6 points. The score may not be high, but the "Hai duo" in attack and defense are still the hope of the team at this time, especially Van Quyet who does not know when he will be able to enter the field.

Dinh Trong’s ability to “patch up” errors helped Lam “Tay” only pick the ball out of the net twice. The player currently playing for Hanoi FC calmly covered and neutralized many of Malaysia’s attacking situations and was quite cunning in his exchanges with the home team players and referee Christopher Beath. Not many Vietnamese players have this trick, especially when their English is not good.

In two consecutive matches, Duy Manh showed signs of having psychological problems. Even playing at home, the 1996-born midfielder should not "win or lose" with Akram Mahinan, as in the 17th minute situation that caused this player to receive an undeserved yellow card right at the beginning of the match. Receiving a yellow card early and playing in the boos of 80,000 spectators made this midfielder's match not really good compared to his ability, he only got 5 points.

This is a rare match where Tien Linh, Cong Phuong and Hung Dung did not make an impression when entering the field. Tien Linh and Cong Phuong only did a good job of not letting the opponent advance, while Hung Dung entered the field as a signal that he would start in the second leg rather than doing anything significant. Of course, therefore, it is understandable if we do not give them points, just wait for the second leg.