AFF CUP 2022: Vietnam national team faces difficulties when facing underdogs

In preparation for the AFF Cup 2022, the Vietnamese team has been gathering in Hanoi, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, playing 2 friendly matches and is currently finalizing the final list with only 1 week left until the tournament starts. After the friendly match with the Philippine team (1-0, Van Quyet scored), Mr. Park Hang-seo expressed satisfaction with his students and the preparation process, but whether or not it is really as the teacher "encouraged" is something that cannot be confirmed. Why is that?

Vietnam national football team practices before a friendly match to prepare for the 2022 AFF Cup.

First of all, with only 2 friendly matches before the "goodbye-good luck" tournament of coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnamese team will test, try, choose and find something when the opponent coming here will be completely different from the opponent we have met before. Meeting an opponent like Dormun is not easy, but this is the time of the World Cup, their stars are being called to compete in the world, so are the remaining players a real "test", even though their level is still far from our reach?

But it must be affirmed that the choice to meet the Philippine team is necessary because it will help Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team realize many things. Remember at the AFF Cup 2021, the Vietnamese team was held to a draw by Indonesia, who played with a large defense, and then entered the semi-finals to meet an unsatisfactory opponent, Thailand, leading to... losing the throne. At the 31st SEA Games, U23 Vietnam also encountered countless difficulties when the Philippine team played a tight 3-layer defense.

In the recent friendly match of the Vietnamese team, Van Lam only had to catch the ball a few times, the rest of the time he stood still because the opponent also played deep defense, testing the patience of coach Park Hang-seo and his team. Van Quyet's late goal showed that this time, Mr. Park was less conservative, adding a player from Hanoi FC who played the best in the V-League was correct and necessary. Surely the opponent in the AFF Cup 2022 will play defensively like that to calculate the long term, limiting the strength of the red team. Not only Van Quyet but also Mr. Park will have to change more personnel, have a fresher playing style, and be more decisive to hope that everything will "go smoothly".

Mr. Park Hang-seo's experiment with Thanh Chung playing as a central defender, Viet Anh as a right back, Ngoc Quang as an anchor midfielder... also showed different results, serving many different goals. Is the Korean coach too "old-fashioned" when he still arranges the wingback pair Van Thanh - Hong Duy, who have long lost their creativity in the national team and Hoang Anh Gia Lai, and Ngoc Quang to play soullessly in the midfield like in the recent match? And more importantly, if they meet an opponent who plays passively and defends negatively, will Van Quyet or someone else be the key to this arduous and elaborate process of breaking through against the opponent? Obviously, there are at least 3 matches against defensive opponents where Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team have shown their incompetence for a long time, in which the tiring and bitter victory against the Philippines will say a lot, reminding them a lot before it's too late?

Also through the friendly matches, it is not difficult to see which players will not be with the national team in the upcoming AFF Cup. Cong Phuong will not participate due to personal reasons, which is a pity. Van Toan was not registered for the match against the Philippines, although he played officially in the match against Dormun, he will likely be eliminated. Young players such as Van Khang, Thanh Nhan, Dinh Duy... who have not played recently will also be considered to be staying at home and the training process is a training process that is never redundant. Duc Chinh will also have difficulty competing when Tuan Hai is really emerging in the attacking scheme of the Korean coach... Quang Hai is about to join the team, which is good news for many people and hopefully this explosive player will continue to contribute his talent to the national team, to show gratitude to the respected teacher...

After the 2022 World Cup with interesting surprises and default truths with teams rich in tradition and talent, hopefully the 2022 AFF Cup will also follow that attractive and surprising path of the king sport, albeit at a different level. The Vietnamese team is certainly the leading team in the region and only taking back the throne from Thailand can be considered a success at this time, while the goal of Vietnamese football is not only that but must advance to the continental level ahead.,.