AFF Cup 2022: Waiting for the dream final

But the reality of the one-sided, easy, smooth match for the Vietnam Team with a convincing 2-0 victory, divided equally between the two halves and scored from the first minutes, showed a different reality, surprising not only the formidable opponent but also the majority of experts and fans in the country, region and continent. Why did Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team achieve such a reasonable miracle?

Vietnam had a dream match with a tough opponent. Photo: Hai Hoang's document

First of all, talking about the return match without relating it to the first leg between the two teams, we will not see the full talent of "wizard" Park Hang-seo and the "pair" Hung Dung - Tien Linh and his teammates in the red team. In the away match just 3 days ago, the two Korean coaches gave each other the ultimate weapons possible. That is, despite the home field advantage, the force intact and energetic, Mr. Shin Tae-yong did not proactively attack as he had previously declared to avoid the opponent's strong defense-counterattack trap, at the same time, proactively giving up the field to put the away team in a deadlocked attack as usual. The home team repeatedly penetrated the defense of the Vietnamese team on the left wing, in the center-back's armpit, the full-back's armpit and the left center-back's armpit. But Van Lam was extremely excellent and did not give the home team a chance to score, even though the goal was very close.

In that context, Mr. Park Hang-seo painted a picture for the opponent to study and exploit, including: the gap between Van Thanh and Duy Manh, between Duy Manh and Ngoc Hai, Van Hau's impatience and fouls, Van Duc's lack of strength, Tien Linh's bewilderment and harmlessness, Hung Dung's confusion... This is also what makes us worried in the second leg, when the Vietnamese team appeared to be in disarray and unable to attack as hoped.

And in the second leg, the "wizard" Park Hang-seo began to show his true colors by keeping Van Thanh, Duy Manh and Van Duc out, and playing long balls from the start to exploit the brilliant talent of striker Tien Linh, who was considered "bewildered and harmless" in the match 3 days before. Indonesia's strongest point was naturalized center-back Armas, who was exploited by a reasonable pressure, becoming "bewildered and redundant" before Tien Linh's hammer shot. The first bucket of cold water poured on Mr. Shin and the Indonesian players, bankrupting their tactics, forcing them to attack in an unwanted way. The second bucket of cold water, also poured by Hung Dung and Tien Linh in the first goal of the second half, bankrupted all the plans of the away team, including tricks like arguing with Van Hau to get a card, deceiving the referee in messy situations...

If anyone has watched the Indonesia - Thailand match in the group stage of Group A, they will see the strengths (scoring first, forcing the hot-tempered opponent to commit a rough foul leading to a loss of players) and also see the weaknesses of the team from the archipelago (playing with more players but letting the opponent equalize). In fact, both semi-final 1 matches also showed that when Indonesia could not take advantage of the home field, scoring opportunities opened up. Coach Shin Tae-yong with his eloquent statements actually contained a weak mentality, an ambitious strategist but lacking good strategies and forces to turn potential and opportunities into concrete results.

The return match with a 2-0 victory over Indonesia brought the Vietnamese team to the final of the largest regional tournament for the 4th time (1998 with Tiger Cup), 2008, 2018 and 2022 with AFF Cup), ending 27 years of only drawing and losing to Indonesia in this tournament and breaking the "curse of reaching the final once every 10 years" before. The Vietnamese team entered the final quite intact, energetic, and full of ambition. The problem is that Mr. Park Hang-seo must be alert with the "card" Van Hau, who is good and rough, to avoid unfortunate consequences, with other cards such as Van Quyet, Van Duc, especially the group of "favorites" from the mountain town team...

In the final, whether it is Thailand or Malaysia, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team are not "afraid", as they have one more day off, play at home and will do everything possible to gain an advantage with a win, before the "wizard" finds the most advantageous way to play in the final match./.