UAE team - high-dose test for coach Park Hang-seo and his team

After the match against Indonesia, Coach Park Hang-seo said: “In November, the Vietnam team will have matches against Thailand and the UAE. It will not be easy to compete for the top spot in the group with them. We have to try our best to get the best results and fortunately we will play the next two matches at home. If we prepare carefully, we can beat Thailand and the UAE.”

Coach Park Hang-seo is a cautious person who respects all opponents, but he has reasons to confidently declare that. With his working style, it seems that the Korean coach has analyzed the team's playing style quite carefully, especially when the UAE team suffered a 1-2 defeat against Thailand.

Overall, the UAE team is showing that they are a worthy opponent of the Vietnam team when they came from behind to defeat Malaysia 2-1 and overwhelm Indonesia 5-0. The UAE's only loss in this tournament was against Thailand with a score of 1-2.

Looking at the numbers, the UAE national team is a team with a strong attack with 8 goals after 3 matches and a defense that has been breached by Malaysia and Thailand a total of 3 times. Leading the UAE national team is Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk. This 67-year-old coach has a lot of experience in coaching, having led Dortmund Club, the Dutch national team, Hamburger SV, Saudi Arabia, Australia...

Like other teams in Group G, the UAE national team prefers the 4-2-3-1 tactical formation. As we have analyzed, this is a very diverse formation in attack with 4 players always present in the 16m50 area when having the ball. Especially the ability to attack in the middle when having 2 central midfielders and 1 attacking midfielder.

When the UAE team defends, there will be 2 midfielders in front of the back four, these 2 midfielders have the task of blocking and supporting the wingers when attacked. When pressing is needed, the 4-4-2 tactic will be formed. When winning the ball, 1 midfielder will move up to form a 4-1-4-1 or even 4-3-3 formation.

UAE's lineup for the match against Thailand has a few changes for the match against Malaysia later. Photo: UAE FA

When facing Thailand, coach Marwijk fielded goalkeeper Khalid Eisa (number 17), central defenders Al Menhali (12) and Al Attas (4), two full-backs Mohamed Barghash (2) and Hassan Saleh (16). Central midfielders Ahmed Barman (13) and Ali Salmeun (5). Playing highest in the attack line were Al Saleh (20), Khalil Imbrahim (14) and Abdul Rahman (10) behind striker Ali Mabkhout (7).

Unlike the match against Malaysia, in the latest match against Thailand, the UAE team made a few adjustments compared to the first match against Malaysia, that is left-back Waleed Ababas (3) and Jassim Yaqoub (11) were put on the bench.

On the attack line, Ali Mabkhout (7) is the most dangerous striker. Up to this point, the 29-year-old player has scored 51 goals for the UAE national team after 66 appearances for the national team. In the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Ali Mabkhout has scored 6 goals. This 1m81 tall player will really be a challenge for the Vietnamese national team's defense with his diverse finishing ability.

To counter the UAE team's style, in the last match, Thailand deployed a starting lineup with T. Dangda playing highest in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Supachok moved to the middle to replace Chanathip and young player Panya played on the left. When facing a disadvantage in the score, coach Marwijk strengthened the UAE by sending 3 players Jassim (19), Hassan (21) and Ahmed Khalil (11), keeping only Ali Mabkhout as the striker.

Through 3 matches, the UAE team showed that they are very strong in situations of cutting the ball, bringing the ball down the wing and crossing the ball for the strikers to head. Besides that, there are situations of small group coordination along the vertical axis. The UAE attackers often coordinate quickly, small, smooth and move very well without the ball.

However, in terms of defense, the UAE team still could not overcome the weakness of the 4-2-3-1. That is the opponent's attacking situations on the flanks. The UAE team still revealed problems in the defense system, that is the left full-back position. The Malaysian team took advantage of that opportunity to open the score in the opening match with a simple cross and header.

Most of the UAE national team members play in the domestic league, with some key players retained and in the process of generational transition. Photo: UAE FA

In the match against Thailand, in the first goal conceded, the UAE right-back also let the Thai player freely cross the ball inside for T. Dangda to head in to open the score. In the decisive goal, the UAE left-back was once again indecisive in crossing the ball, creating an opportunity for young player E. Punya to rush in and finish close to the goal.

It can be said that Thailand defeated UAE with the opponent's own special attack. That is, exploiting situations where the ball is passed from the wings. However, with the available players, it seems that the UAE team is more dangerous when focusing on attacking in the middle. And this may be the reason why defensive midfielder Ngo Hoang Thinh was tested.

Coach Park Hang-seo and his players are facing two very important matches at My Dinh Stadium. Photo: Hai Hoang

Obviously, the UAE team has quite a few similarities in the way Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia play. They only differ in the human factor and the technique, physique, speed of the players and are led by a veteran coach.

Up to this point, Coach Park Hang-seo has faced opponents playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation 3 times in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. On the other hand, Coach Park Hang-seo has reason to be confident when welcoming UAE at home.

In the past, the Vietnam national team also often had good results when facing teams from West Asia. Tactical diagrams are only relative, but with coach Park Hang-seo, when he said as above, it is completely reasonable. Of course, the Vietnam national team must have good preparation as what Mr. Park said.

With 2 victories against Malaysia and Indonesia in the 3rd and 4th matches of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, the Vietnam national team increased its total points from 1,231 to 1,245, thereby returning to 97th place in the October FIFA rankings. Meanwhile, the UAE national team is ranked 67th, 30 places higher than the Vietnam national team in the latest FIFA rankings.

Vietnam national football team vs UAE and Thailand: Question marks on the attack line

(Baonghean.vn) - On October 24, Coach Park Hang-seo announced the list of 27 national team players to prepare for the World Cup qualifying round in November. Just like previous times, the decisions of the Korean coach brought many surprises.