Group G World Cup 2022 qualifiers: Except for Indonesia, the remaining 4 teams are not too different

Indonesia is too weak

Japanese coach Akira Nishino has shown flexibility in his coaching style. After a goalless draw with Vietnam, in the match against Indonesia, Thailand took the field with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with striker Supachok being sent on the field from the start.

21-year-old Supachok was again voted Man of the Match. Photo: Changsek

Meanwhile, coach Simon McMenemy relied on naturalized players such as Yustinus Pae, Basna, Evan Dimas... to deploy long play, then cross the wing to head the ball. The home team's play did not cause any difficulties for goalkeeper Siwarak Tedsungnoen because the Thai midfielders blocked the home team's wingers quite well, while the two central defenders Hemviboon and Manuel Bihr were very good at defending high balls.

The prodigy Supachok made the difference with two skillful shots into Ardhiyasa's net and earned a penalty for the Thai team. It seems that coach Akira Nishino and his students have understood each other better, the 21-year-old Supachok was again voted the best player of the match. After 11 years, the Thai team won against the host Indonesia at Bung Karno Stadium.

The Indonesian audience seems to be getting bored with coach Simon McMenemy and his team as well as the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), so only 12,000 spectators came to Bung Karno Stadium to watch the match. There are calls for coach Simon McMenemy to resign and for PSSI to invite Luis Milla, the coach who led the Indonesian Olympic team at the 18th Asian Games, to return.

"In my opinion, Simon should resign. He is not a bad coach, but his style is not suitable and he does not really understand Indonesian players. PSSI should probably find a coach with a style similar to what Luis Milla did," a fan wrote harshly.

Malaysia progress

Four years ago, Malaysia was defeated 0-10 by UAE when the two teams met in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, but yesterday's match, coach Tan Cheng - Hoe helped them transform. Compared to what they showed in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2018 final against Vietnam in December last year, there has been a lot of progress.

The time of possession of the ball between Malaysia and UAE players was equal, they even took the initiative to score the first goal through Syafiq Ahmad. The fact that Malaysia had to lose 1-2 did not reflect the events on the field. In addition to the situation where the ball hit the post, the Southeast Asian representative created countless scoring opportunities, they also had many moments of pressure.

Malaysia played no worse than their West Asian opponents. Compared to the match with Vietnam 10 months ago, the same faces Talaha, Safawi, Mohamadou Sumareh... were still present, but they knew how to control the ball. Combining long balls, playing simple but effective with relatively smooth 1-2 passes in front of the UAE goal - something that was rarely seen in this team before.

With a world ranking of 65 according to FIFA and sixth in the continent, of course UAE is a highly rated team in Group G compared to the other four opponents who all come from the "lowlands" of world football.

UAE has not yet struck

28-year-old striker Ali Mabkhoot scored twice to help the visitors come back to win 2-1. Photo: AFC

The match at Bukit Jalil was the first test of the strength of the team from West Asia. Considered the strongest team in Group G, coach Bert van Marwijk's team did not exert too much effort in the opening match.

In addition to introducing 28-year-old striker Ali Mabkhoot who scored twice to help the visitors come back to win 2-1, UAE showed how good their ability to control the match. 27-year-old star Omar Abdulrahman, midfielder who was voted the best player in Asia in 2016, came on the field after an injury since October last year and will be a real opponent for Que Ngoc Hai.

Ali Mabkhoot’s good jumping ability, so the header goal of Ali Mabkhoot (although only 1.76m tall) is something that experts do not rate too highly. But the jump from a teammate’s through ball with a distance of 20m, pressing the Malaysian defender to score the ball showed the class of the UAE players.

After the match, Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe expressed disappointment. "Overall, the players played well. Our biggest weakness was not being able to control the speed and tempo of the match. UAE took advantage of our weakness, scoring two goals when the team lost concentration."

With a 3-0 victory over Indonesia, Thailand temporarily took the lead in Group G of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia with 4 points. In the next round, Thailand will rest, we will meet Malaysia and the host UAE will meet the bottom team Indonesia.