AFF Cup 2018: What will the Vietnamese team do to beat Malaysia?
(Baonghean.vn) - When facing the Malaysian team, Coach Park and the coaching staff will have to make certain changes in playing style and personnel. But what those changes will be remains to be seen, awaiting the report from assistant coach Lee Young-jin after watching the host team Malaysia play against the Laotian team.
To get 3 points when facing Cambodia and Laos,Coach Tan Cheng Hoe has been using a 4-4-2 formation, but when playing away at My Dinh Stadium, Malaysia will most likely use a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Difficulty attacking through the center
Looking at Malaysia's training process, especially what happened on the field in the match against Cambodia, we can predict that coach Tan Cheng Hoe is placing absolute trust in the central defenders and central midfielders. These appear to be the four best and most experienced players in those positions.
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| Central defender Zafuan Radzak (7) is a key player for the Malaysian national team. Photo: Internet |
Malaysia's central defensive pairing is a combination of veteran Zafuan Radzak and young defender Shahrul Saad. Radzak, with 73 caps for the national team—the most among the Malaysian players in this AFF Cup—is clearly a key player. Radzak also knows his regional rivals very well and was the one who lifted the gold medal in men's football at the 2009 SEA Games. Radzak is no stranger to the playing style of strikers Anh Duc and Trong Hoang, as they faced each other in the 2010 AFF Cup.
Meanwhile, with his ideal height of 1.80m and aggressive playing style, young center-back Saad is gradually gaining the trust of coach Tan Cheng Hoe and his teammates. In a four-defender formation, Saad usually plays higher up the field than Radzak, primarily tasked with intercepting passes and blocking opponents.
Meanwhile, in the center of midfield, coach Tan Cheng Hoe often uses the pairing of Mahinan and Abba. These are two young midfielders, with a combined total of only 18 appearances for the national team. Mahinan is considered the playmaker for Malaysia, while Abba, a tall and strong player with excellent physical strength and ball-blocking abilities, is responsible for interceptions. Abba's aggressive playing style is quite similar to Ngo Hoang Thinh (FLC Thanh Hoa), and even more physical.
Coach Tan Cheng Hoe is certainly aware of the strengths and weaknesses of Vietnam's midfield, including Xuan Truong and Quang Hai. In the midfield battle, Mahinan and Abba will be instructed to press high, utilizing their physical strength to prevent the Vietnamese players from having time to control the ball. Malaysia's central axis is considered a combination of experienced and youthful players.
Change central midfielder
In our opinion, fielding both Xuan Truong and Quang Hai simultaneously against Malaysia would certainly be risky. The duo of Xuan Truong and Quang Hai excel at ball control and attacking play. However, due to their physical and stamina disadvantages, neither Xuan Truong nor Quang Hai are strong in tackles or ball recovery. Facing Mahinan and Abba, who are aggressive and fast players, the Vietnamese team would be in danger if the opposing team won the ball and attacked directly down the midfield.
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| Central midfielder Syamer Kutty Abba (14) is tasked with leading the play for Malaysia. Photo: Internet |
To overcome this problem, Coach Park sometimes has to "sacrifice" his favorite player, Xuan Truong. In that case, Quang Hai would be partnered with either Hung Dung or Duc Huy. Coach Park might even field Duc Huy and Hung Dung as central midfielders, pushing Quang Hai up to his preferred right wing position. Duc Huy and Hung Dung are two defensive midfielders with excellent ball recovery and tackling abilities. Meanwhile, wing midfielders like Van Quyet and Quang Hai are both good at creating chances.
The Vietnamese national team's attacking strategies against Laos were also largely ineffective. Except for the opening goal, scored by Van Hau on the wing, for most of the match, Cong Phuong, Van Quyet, and Anh Duc took turns attacking through the center. However, these attempts never yielded results due to inaccurate coordination, as the Laotian opponents concentrated a large number of players in their own half.
With the experienced center-back Zafuan Radzak, our team will need to add more attacking options on the flanks. Van Toan would be a good choice alongside players like Van Quyet and Quang Hai.
