AFF Cup 2018: The biggest problem of the Vietnamese team right now is "recovering the battery"

To be fair, the Vietnamese players had a good match at the “fire pan” of Bukit Jalil, under the pressure of 80,000 Malaysian fans. Having scored 2 goals in the first 25 minutes of the match made the second leg much “easier to breathe”. However, that does not mean ignoring the resilient fighting spirit of “Harimau Malaya”, they deserve to be praised for rising up to score 2 goals to equalize.

Physical fitness, not a new problem

In the first leg of the final,Defender Doan Van Hau was given the lowest score by football experts in the match. According to the assessment, the team's left-back was at fault for both of Vietnam's set-piece goals, often made unnecessary fouls and appeared exhausted when facing Surameh and then Syafiq Ahmad.

It is probably more appropriate to praise Surameh and Syafiq Ahmad than criticize the youngest player on the team.

Malaysian players play extremely tough and full of tricks. Photo: Trung Kien

In addition to the fact that the naturalized player Surameh is in great physical condition, it must be admitted that playing continuously at high intensity has worn down the physical strength of the youngest player on the national team. In the final minutes of the match at Bukit Jalil, player Van Hau was visibly exhausted, leaving the home fans worried. These physical manifestations certainly did not escape the eyes of Mr. Tan, a coach who is just as cunning as Mr. Park on the Vietnamese side.

Fox Sports rated the 3 best players in the match between Vietnam and Malaysia in the first leg of the final, 2 of which were Duc Huy and Huy Hung. The central midfielder pair of the Vietnam team played excellently and each scored 1 goal.

Meanwhile, the player who scored the free kick, Safawi Rasid, also received the same score. It must be admitted that these 3 players were the bright spots in the important match, but the defensive task from a distance of the Vietnamese central midfielders is also a matter of discussion.

Perhaps Fox Sports colleagues are somewhat biased towards the goal scorers and Van Duc's assists are not counted (because they indirectly created goals) but Quang Hai and Van Duc's efforts need to be recognized.

Both moved a lot and ran out of battery in the last 10 minutes, leaving Park Hang-seo with no choice but to let the Nghe An players rest. The attacks from Quang Hai and Van Duc will be used by the Vietnamese team in the second leg of the final and after the AFF Cup.

The important thing now is to quickly restore the physical strength of the Vietnamese players. Even Trong Hoang, the player with the best physical strength in the Vietnamese team, was exhausted when playing on a soft pitch, while the opponent decided to "use force to press the player", continuously tackling fiercely to exhaust his physical strength.

Calculation

What surprised regional football experts was the fierce match with 8 yellow cards given to both teams by the referee, but both Mr. Park and Mr. Tan "programmed to receive the cards" correctly. Players who received cards from both teams such as Safawi Rasid, Muhammad Akram of Malaysia and Quang Hai, Cong Phuong, and Duc Huy of the Vietnamese team all knew how to restrain themselves to avoid receiving more cards.

The uncompromising battle will take place at My Dinh Stadium. Photo: Trung Kien

A match in which both sides played ruthlessly and with a lot of tricks. Many home players tackled like “kung-fu fighters” while the Vietnamese players were not easy to bully.

In the 10th minute of the match, center back Duy Manh was said to have elbowed Malaysia's captain Zaquan in the face when he joined the attack. However, the referee did not give Duy Manh a card but only gave him a warning.

Looking at the image of captain Zaquan then using his elbow to provoke captain Ngoc Hai, we can see how carefully the home team players had prepared for the collision scenario. This signaled a ruthless battle that would take place at My Dinh Stadium.