Vietnam Team: Victory of talent and courage

Previously, Mr. Kim said that Tuan Hai was still in good shape and form but only played for a few minutes in the second half of the first group stage match against Laos and then "kept quiet waiting for the right time" until the second leg of the final, after other strikers such as Xuan Son had scored 7 goals, Tien Linh 4 goals, Quang Hai 2 goals, Hai Long at least had 1 goal...

In fact, Tuan Hai was both good and lucky in scoring the opening goal in the second leg of the final match, in the 8th minute. Luckily for Tuan Hai, due to Xuan Son's brilliance, the Thai central defenders had to closely mark him, so they "opened up" for Tuan Hai to receive the pass from Xuan Son's header behind, then ran down extremely well like a whirlwind, lifting the ball over the Thai goalkeeper's head to score the opening goal. Tuan Hai was also extremely lucky when his pass to his teammate in the Thai penalty area caused a central defender Hemviboon to score an own goal, tying the score 2-2, which was extremely important in the last minute of the second half (83').

This goal just proved the extraordinary bravery of the Vietnam Team after the home team raised the score to 2-1 after a not really fair play situation by Suphachok. That despite the difficulty after Xuan Son unfortunately suffered a serious injury and had to leave the field in the 30th minute of the first half, with the introduction of Tien Linh and then Quang Hai, Hai Long, Xuan Manh changing positions... the Vietnam Team still had enough strength to fight to win.

Final second legASEAN Cup 2024really took the audience from one extreme emotion to another. The early goal of the Vietnamese team by Tuan Hai was really a bucket of cold water on the enthusiasm and eagerness of the Thai team about a comeback, but clearly the reality was "not just a dream". Then the best players of the Vietnamese team such as Hoang Duc and Ngoc Tan could also make mistakes under the terrible pressure of the opponent, allowing the home team to be equalized by a beautiful shot by Ben David in the 29th minute. Then Xuan Son's injury could very well give the home team more freedom to organize an attack. Then the top team in the region got the goal to increase the score with an action "more low than the lowland" when instead of returning the ball to the opponent, they swung their foot and kicked straight into the net!

And when Quang Hai entered the field in the second half as usual, with his usual energy, with a clear view of the opponent's weakness after the first half, he made Weerathep receive a red card, a "milestone" signaling countless difficulties for the Thais, then his dribbling straight through the middle, passing like a set-up for Tuan Hai in the 83rd minute made the Thais shocked and collapsed after Vietnam's equalizer. In the final minutes of injury time, when Thailand played like futsal, sending the goalkeeper up to attack, they received not only a bucket of cold water but a bucket of cold water with Hai Long's goal from the middle of the field, raising the score to 3-2, completely extinguishing the will of the home team and officially giving the championship to Vietnam.

The most remarkable thing in this match isVietnam teamWhen Xuan Son was on the field as well as when he had to leave the field due to injury to be replaced by Tien Linh, he could still play fairly, not afraid of Thailand's enthusiasm and advantages. The psychological problem that has long been unfavorable for Vietnam has been removed. The rotation of players, flexible formation arrangement of Mr. Kim Sang-sik and the fighting spirit of each Vietnamese player have created a great collective strength, explosive and the more they play, the stronger, bolder, more dangerous and unpredictable they become against all opponents.

At this point, we cannot help but mention the star Kim Sang-sik, who dared to "bet his career" on this tournament. Someone said that the team he led played without a specific direction, without a clear framework, which is not wrong, but "winning" through each match, most clearly in the most important match, the second leg of the final, is the result, the proof of the leadership talent, the vision of the young Korean strategist, after the brilliant successes of his predecessor Park Hang-seo.

Mr. Kim skillfully exploited the talents of the old pillars, such as Hoang Duc, who played better and better, and Quang Hai, who was energetic and unpredictable after entering the field in the second half. He was really wise when he mainly used Dinh Trieu in goal after examining Nguyen Fillip's talent, discovering that Ngoc Tan, who had no lungs, was extremely important to "elevate" Hoang Duc, exploiting Hai Long reasonably, who was the one who opened the scoring and finished the scoring of a major tournament and the great success of the Vietnam National Team in the regional arena.

Someone can say that some teams do not have the best squad in this tournament, such as Indonesia, who are saving their strength for the 3rd round of the World Cup and were eliminated early from the group stage as seen. The Thais do not have Dangda, Theerathon or Chanathip, but with a bunch of Thai players in the squad, they have clear strength and ambition. Someone also said that Vietnam only reached the end of the tournament with Xuan Son, which may be true, but clearly, in the most nerve-wracking moment without Xuan Son, the Vietnamese team still had extraordinary strength to make the 3rd victory in the regional achievement table. Of course, Vietnamese football has turned a new page and has Xuan Son as well as players coming here from naturalized sources, Vietnamese overseas sources, with reasonable steps, that strength will be multiplied many times...