Vietnamese football faces three remaining challenges and opportunities.

With few new faces promoted from the Vietnam U23 team, Coach Park had to rely on the experience of the established players. Coach Park will lead the Vietnam national team in the remaining three matches of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers against hosts Malaysia (March 31); visiting team Indonesia (June 4); and an away match against the UAE (June 9).

UAE, the biggest rival.

With significant investment from many teams, it is expected that Coach Park will have some new faces for the national team this V.League season. (Photo: VFF)

Our biggest rival is the UAE, which is undergoing significant changes both on the coaching staff and in the attacking line. After sacking Bert van Marwijk, the UAE Football Association has chosen Serbian strategist Ivan Jovanovic as his replacement. The coach has a deep understanding of UAE football, having previously managed Al Nazález since 2013 and winning titles such as the UAE President's Cup, UAE League Cup, and GCC Champions League for Gulf teams.

Besides Ali Mabkhout, the top scorer in the national team's history with 6 goals, out of the West Asian representative's total of 8 goals in 3 matches, the UAE has just added two naturalized players. Mabkhout is currently ranked second in the list of top scorers in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region, just one goal behind Omar Al Somah (seven goals) of the Syrian national team, who was absent from the match against Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium.

With the addition of Argentinian striker Sebastian Tagliabue and Brazilian forward Caio Canedo, who previously played for Botafogo and Internacional, the Vietnamese defense will face a tough challenge in their next match.

The UAE are currently 5 points behind Vietnam but have played one less game and have 3 out of 4 home matches remaining. If they win all 4 matches, they could potentially move to the top of Group G. The only condition is that we must secure 6 points against Malaysia and Indonesia. A key factor is that the Indonesian Football Federation has just appointed South Korean coach Shin Tae-Yong as the head coach of the national team. With a relaxed mindset as they have no further objectives, Indonesia could pose a significant challenge to the Vietnamese team.

Defending the throne

With North Korea's women's team withdrawing from the tournament, the Vietnamese team has a great chance to reach the play-off round and compete for one of the two tickets to the Olympic finals. Photo: VFF

A notable event at the end of the Year of the Rat is that Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will defend their title at the AFF Cup 2020, taking place from November 23rd to December 31st. Thai football will continue to be the biggest rival for Coach Park Hang-seo's team, while their counterpart Shin Tae-Yong suggests Indonesia will play the role of a potential obstacle.

Certainly, defending their title will be no easy task for Coach Park and his team, as the tactics used by the Vietnamese national team over the past two years have been studied and neutralized by other teams in the region. The highly impactful players like Van Duc, Xuan Manh, Hoang Duc, and Duc Chien will likely be refreshed by the South Korean coach in the coming period.

With significant investment from many teams, it is expected that this year's V.League season will see the emergence of several new faces for the national team. In addition to the 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 formations, Coach Park will introduce further innovations in the playing style for the Vietnamese national team.

Great opportunity

Meanwhile, women's football also has a rather important goal. As the top team in Southeast Asia, coach Mai Duc Chung's team will participate in the third round of the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in the Asian region in South Korea from February 3-9. With North Korea's withdrawal from the tournament, the Vietnamese team has a great chance to reach the play-off round and compete for one of the two tickets to the Olympic finals.

What happened at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship showed that the path to the Olympic Games is much more difficult for men's football than for women's football. With large sponsorship packages from benefactors, the women's national team is facing a great opportunity to upgrade its level.

Vietnamese football is gaining momentum after two consecutive years of success. The recent defeat in Thailand is an opportunity for us to reflect and adjust our strategy. I wish us success in achieving all three major goals in this Year of the Rat.