Tests before the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers

(Baonghean.vn) - The Vietnamese team will travel to a neutral field in Tajikistan to prepare for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying match against Afghanistan on the evening of March 28. The friendly match against Taiwan on March 22 will be a test for the team's players.

On March 20, all 23 players of the Vietnam national team will gather in Hanoi. After 2 days of training, on the evening of March 22, the Vietnamese players will meet the Taiwanese team at Hang Day Stadium. It is known that the away team also considers this a practice match before meeting the Turkmenistan team at home.

Taiwan has many changes in its squad compared to the match against Vietnam nearly a year ago. Photo: Internet

According to experts, Taiwan is not strong, although they have made many changes in both the coaching staff and players. The most recent meeting between the two teams was in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. At that time, our Vietnam team won both matches: the first leg (September 8, 2015) won 2-1; the second leg (March 24, 2016) won 4-1.

Recently, the Taiwan Football Association invited Japanese coach Kazuo Kuroda to lead the team. The Japanese coach refreshed the team by calling up 17 new faces, compared to the match against Vietnam 1 year ago.

In the squad of 8 players who participated in both matches against Vietnam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, the most notable is striker Wu Chun-Chinh - the author of both goals against Vietnam in the above 2 matches.

Rejuvenating the squad, Coach Huu Thang calculates the long-term plan for the Vietnam National Team. Photo: Internet

This is just a friendly match but Japanese coach Kazuo Kuroda is very interested. He brought 25 Taiwanese players to Hanoi from March 14 to practice, get familiar with the field and prepare for this friendly match. Meanwhile, coach Huu Thang also encountered many difficulties because he only had 2 days to prepare, and the players had just gone through the stressful rounds of V-League. This was also the time when the national team gathered after Cong Vinh, Thanh Luong and Dinh Luat said goodbye, the coaching staff needed time to assemble the squad.

According to experts, due to financial issues, the VFF's decision to hold the match at Hang Day Stadium is also disadvantageous to the technical style of play of Vietnamese players. People are waiting to see how Coach Huu Thang will organize this match when he does not have the players he wants?

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