AFF Cup 2018: When Vietnam team "defends and compensates for offense"

In the group stage, 5 players scored, of which Anh Duc, Cong Phuong, Quang Hai each scored 2 goals, while Tien Linh and Van Duc also "scored" once.

Quang Hai, Cong Phuong excellent

Striker Cong Phuong is rated the highest (8.0 points), because Phuong's 2 goals both opened the score in the match (Laos, Malaysia match), in addition to this HAGL player having the second most playing time (279 minutes), only behind Quang Hai.

Striker Cong Phuong is rated the highest in the group stage. Photo: Trung Kien

In attack, Quang Hai was the only player to play the full 360 minutes. In the first 3 matches, he had to play in the central midfield position, which is not his forte, but Quang Hai still completed his task quite well and proved his ability. In the match against Cambodia, when he was returned to his forte position, the young star of Hanoi Club shone with 1 goal and 1 assist, deserving 8 points.

There are 2 players named Duc, one young and one old. The SLNA player is like a “knife” from left back, left midfielder, then right back and when he was returned to the attack, he left a deep impression with the goal against Cambodia.

Previously, Phan Van Duc also had a favorable assist for Anh Duc to score in the match against Malaysia. Meanwhile, in 3 matches, veteran Anh Duc had 2 very classy goals, the presence of B.Binh Duong players always put pressure on the opponent. They both deserved a score of 7.5.

Captain Van Quyet himself could not be satisfied when: 2 times starting, 2 times coming on as a substitute but did not score, did not have any significant assists, often lost the ball. The most expected player of the Vietnamese team did not create the necessary pressure on the opponent's defense, so 6 points is a favor for him to shine in the semi-finals.

3 musketeers

The strength of the 3 central defenders at this AFF Cup is that they are always alert against all opponents, most typically in the match at My Dinh Stadium against Malaysia, where they controlled the ball 69% of the time but the central defenders still played alertly.

Being constantly pressured by the opponent, but when they won the ball, they did not carelessly clear it to the front line, proving that the mettle of Vietnamese defenders has been raised to a new level under Mr. Park Hang-seo.

In the group stage of AFF Cup 2018, Ngoc Hai - one of the "musketeers" is playing very calmly. Photo: Trung Kien

Duy Manh, Dinh Trong and Ngoc Hai made Vietnamese fans ecstatic when they kept a clean sheet for 360 minutes. The 3 "musketeers" did not play flashy, in the "Park-ball" style of play they played quite close to each other, keeping a good distance from the midfield. In the match against Cambodia, Dinh Trong sometimes even advanced to attack like a 5th midfielder.

If we were to give a detailed score, the SLNA player would be given a higher score, because in addition to defending the left wing well, he also played 2 matches as captain on the field. No one would wonder if Duy Manh and Dinh Trong got 8 points and Ngoc Hai got 8+.

Completed group

Both Van Hau and Trong Hoang each had 1 assist. Trong Hoang was placed in an out-of-position position but basically completed his defensive duties. Trong Hoang achieved a pass success rate of 87.3%, the highest in the team.

Because Van Quyet's performance was not stable, the team's left wing was not as strong as at ASIAD 18. Both received some silly cards, so they were not allowed to play in all 4 matches. Score 7.

Quang Hai, despite playing outside his natural position, still shows his excellent ability. Photo: Trung Kien

Xuan Truong has returned to form after a disappointing ASIAD 18. Playing alongside Quang Hai in the central midfield position, the HAGL player had a pretty good match against Laos. In the following two matches, when the pressure from Malaysia and Myanmar was stronger, Xuan Truong was quite dim and did not get to play in the match against Cambodia.

Xuan Truong played 222 minutes in 4 matches for the Vietnam national team, with 142 successful passes, but his poor interception ability is a minus point. Perhaps Xuan Truong is still trusted because Hung Dung is still not in good form. Score 7.

It is quite regrettable for Van Toan, who only came on as a substitute in the 76th minute of the match against Myanmar. If the referee had not made a mistake in calling for offside, he would have scored a goal to get his name on the scoresheet. An injury during training caused the AFF Cup to end early for this player.

Goalkeeper Lam "Tay" is also in this group, not that this goalkeeper is not excellent but his teammates play so well that he is "unemployed". It is difficult to give a score when he did not have to sweat much in 4 group stage matches.