Should we blame the Vietnamese team's defense?

The first thing to say2022 World Cup third qualifying roundIn Asia, Coach Park Hang-seo has just faced the toughest opponents after 4 years working in Vietnam. Mr. Park's football philosophy has always prioritized building a solid defense before thinking about attacking. But the Vietnamese team has lost 5 consecutive matches, with both individual and system errors. Is it possible that the quality of our defense is having problems?

Playground beyond reach

Coach Park Hang-seo: "No one goes into the match wanting to lose, we have many matches ahead." Photo: VFF

Commentator Dang Gia Man said: “In the past, we were very proud of the defense in the 3-defender formation that Mr. Park is applying in Vietnam. Remember, in the 2018 AFF Cup, goalkeeper Dang Van Lam set a record when he kept a clean sheet for 405 minutes, helping the Vietnamese team win the tournament. In the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates did not concede a goal in 5/8 matches, contributing to the historic achievement of the national team. But in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, the 11 teams in Asia are at a completely different level, that is the difference that we need to pay attention to when evaluating the team.”

In the past 4 matches, the Vietnam team has let the opponent score 10 goals. Most of the goals conceded came from gaps in the defense line, the goals conceded were convincing, and they had to be accepted. First of all, except for the 2 goals conceded by Thanh Binh, the error in judging the level of his students in making substitutions that Mr. Park admitted, the remaining 8 goals conceded are difficult to blame on coach Park Hang-seo. In our opinion, there are 3 factors that have caused us to concede an average of 2.5 goals/match as of now:

The Vietnamese national team's defense lacks stability and the best personnel. In addition to Doan Van Hau's injury and absence before the first match, goalkeeper and right midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang could not participate in the two confrontations with China and Oman. Center back Bui Tien Dung also only played from the match against Australia at My Dinh. The replacements will have difficulty in coordinating with Que Ngoc Hai and other main players.

Except for China, who did not play pressing, Vietnam's opponents in the final qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup all made the most of their physical strength and stamina to attack and press our formation deep. With the high-tempo physical torture of the matches, Coach Park's defense could not maintain the necessary concentration for 90 minutes. Notice that in the last 15 minutes of the match, we had to huddle together to defend, and in the match with the Chinese team, we could not even stand firm until the last minute, losing 3-2.

For the top players in the continent, the experience and tricks of intense competition have made it impossible for the Vietnamese players to keep their cool heads. This leads to regrettable personal mistakes due to frustration., hThe silly fouls that led to penalties by Ho Tan Tai and Do Duy Manh in the match against Oman are the clearest proof of that. The seven penalties during the 2022 World Cup qualifying journey showed the lack of experience of the defense. This was not revealed in the confrontations with teams in the region, when our level was better.

What remains

Losing consecutive matches, it is natural that the Vietnamese defense is rated lower than the average of the whole team. It is likely that in the remaining 6 matches, when the competition enters the decisive stage, the number of goals conceded may increase. In the near future, the Japanese team also needs points when they meet us at My Dinh Stadium early next month.

Coach Park Hang-seo will still have a headache finding a solution for his defense in the coming time. The most important thing is that the Vietnamese players gain experience when competing with top Asian teams./.