Asian Cup 2019 - where young Vietnamese players spread their wings

Throughout the journey at the 2019 Asian Cup, only Yemen was rated lower than the Vietnam team. Among the remaining 4 opponents, Iran and Japan were in the Top 3 of Asia. Iraq was also in the upper hand, and Jordan's strength was also much better than Park Hang-seo's team.

Normally, when facing the "big guys", mental strength is aroused as the most powerful weapon of the Vietnam National Team. But looking at the recent fiery performances, we are no longer allowed to say that the army of Mr. Park Hang-seo only has mental strength as the brightest point. Besides spirit, the Vietnam National Team has really grown in expertise.

These two factors combined together have brought the image of the Vietnamese national team to a new level, difficult to defeat even against opponents who have participated in the World Cup many times such as Iran or Japan.

Vietnamese players have made remarkable progress in their competitive spirit.

In a conversation before the match against Japan, Mr. Alfred Riedl's former assistant, Nguyen Van Hiep, mentioned the 1-4 loss to Japan in the group stage of the 2007 Asian Cup.

According to Mr. Hiep, when the match just started, midfielder Nguyen Minh Chuyen went to the sidelines to ask to be substituted because he "couldn't breathe" due to not being able to keep up with the pace of the match due to Japan's extremely high intensity "swarming" all over the field.

But looking at the way Cong Phuong and his teammates performed against Japan in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, it can be seen that the strength of the current generation of Vietnamese national team players has made great strides.

Remember, Japan is the 5th team that Park Hang-seo's students have to play against. Before that, Iran, Iraq, Jordan or even Yemen all had a physical foundation and physique superior to the Vietnam team. Despite having to fight with a high competition density and high intensity of exercise, Park Hang-seo's team still ensures good physical strength.

Even the Vietnamese team was more energetic than Jordan even though they had to play for 120 minutes. Not only the Asian Cup, looking back at the stressful journey at the AFF Suzuki Cup further reinforces the view that the physical strength of the current Vietnamese players is different from the past.

“Our players have matured. Their mentality is very stable. If their mentality is not stable, it will be difficult to show their skills,” former assistant coach of the Vietnam national team Nguyen Thanh Vinh commented on Park Hang-seo’s team.

It is true that in the past, every time the Vietnam national team faced stronger opponents, they would feel their hearts pounding and their legs shaking because they were afraid of losing when they were considered "weak and underdogs". However, that has not happened with the current generation of players.

Although still quite young, Quang Hai, Duy Manh, Van Hau... have shown rapid maturity in terms of character when playing very strongly, confidently and without fear no matter who the opponent is.

It is this physical and mental improvement that has helped Mr. Park Hang-seo's students demonstrate their technical qualities to create a new strength, of a much higher level than the seniors of previous Vietnamese national teams.

The current picture shows a bright future for the Vietnam national team in the near future. If they continue to improve rapidly in terms of skills, the dream of participating in the World Cup when Asia has 8.5 participating places is not a distant dream for the Vietnamese people.