Vietnamese Football and Lessons from Vietnam Futsal Against Japan

The fact that football is at the forefront of implementing the "new normal" by allowing 30% of spectators into the stadium is a commendable effort by the stadium organizers and a great source of encouragement forVietnam National TeamOf course, Mr. Park Hang-seo's main task at this time is to stabilize and improve the quality of all aspects of the team, fully research the opponent and find the most suitable and effective way to play, in order to achieve the goal of scoring points against the number 1 team in Asia when playing at home.

The Vietnamese team will have to make every effort to compete with Japan. Photo: VOV

After difficult calculations and not being able to achieve any minimum goals, the Vietnamese team is actually facing more difficulties now. The team's strength has been fully revealed, and the coaching staff's work is no longer a secret to anyone. Meanwhile, opponents like the Japanese team have not played successfully in recent times (2 wins, 2 losses) and will certainly be more determined in the upcoming matches to achieve the goal of winning a ticket to the World Cup as a "default" for a long time. And the team that the Japanese hope will easily take all 3 points is the Vietnamese team, regardless of whether they play at home or away, with or without spectators.

Of course, the Japanese people have a good reason to rely on that because of their superior ability and class compared to the Vietnamese national team. A series of big names of the Japanese national team are playing in Europe, even in top leagues such as the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga... Even if the team only gathers together for 2-3 days to compete, that is a normal thing in professional football, it cannot be considered a disadvantage or weakness for them. In the not too distant future, when Vietnamese football becomes truly professional, with star players playing abroad, it will be seen that it is also an obvious "default", everyone will have to happily comply.

But the above arguments are not to make the Vietnamese team "reconcile" with the current reality, to play superficially, finish the job, finish everything and go home. People often say, still bet their faith on the round ball, on the surprises and excitement that often happen on the field in stories of grasshoppers kicking cars, tiny people knocking down athletes...

We don’t have to look far, but right in Vietnam’s football, from our “brother” futsal for example. That was the story more than 5 years ago, on February 17, 2016, the Vietnam Futsal Team faced the powerful Japan Futsal Team in the quarter-finals of the Asian Futsal Championship. Of course, the Japanese team was rated higher, had more hope and it was not difficult for them to lead the Vietnam Team by 2 goals right from the first half.

But with a spirit of indomitable competition, the more difficult the more extraordinary strength is shown, the Vietnam Futsal Team found the key to open the game in the smallest opportunities, although they continued to concede another goal, but in the end, they still equalized the score 3-3 in 40 minutes of breathless, exciting official play and went from one surprise to another. The two teams entered extra time and the Vietnam Futsal Team let their opponents take the lead again, but then they were disappointed when the Vietnam Team equalized 4-4, forcing them to accept entering the penalty shootout at the 5m line.

Then the Vietnam Futsal Team surprisingly won 2-1, entered the semi-finals, and won a ticket to the 2016 Futsal World Cup finals for the first time in history.

The lesson of playing resiliently, courageously, and never retreating of the Vietnam Futsal Team must therefore be a “lesson to remember” for Coach Park Hang-seo and his team when entering the big match with the Japan Team ahead. That is the most fearsome weapon of the Vietnam Team against any opponent, if that weapon is continuously honed and promoted at the right time and place to multiply the potential strength in each individual and the whole team today and tomorrow...