Vietnam team and the 'smarts' after losing to China team

The developments and results of the first friendly match with the Chinese team on October 10 clearly demonstrated that.

The lineup for the first half of the away match of the Chinese team includes key players from the Park Hang-seo era such as Van Lam, Ngoc Hai, Duy Manh. Hung Dung, Hoang Duc, Tuan Anh, Tuan Hai, Van Toan... and some new but not new players who played well in V-League 2023 including Tuan Tai, Viet Hung, Tien Anh.

Overall, this team played well, at least not losing the game, not conceding goals despite being counter-attacked many times by the opponent. But if the two wings were the most powerful weapon of Vietnamese football in the success of previous years, in this match, the duo Viet Hung-Tien Anh were pushed back to the defensive position, not once participating in a clear attack or crossing or passing a brilliant ball.

In short, the best and most confident lineup that Mr. Philippe Troussier chose to start against China only played well without any sharpness, except for the great breakthrough situation but missed shot of Tuan Hai or the pass of Hung Dung to Van Toan but this striker could not make a difference.

In the second half, because they were allowed to make 6 substitutions, both teams continuously experimented with substitutions. The most basic difference was that China's substitutions were immediately effective, while Vietnam brought in a series of young players, and everyone could see the huge gap compared to their seniors.

Dinh Bac, Van Cuong, Thai Son, Van Khang and even his senior Tien Linh were put on the field one after another, but all of them only brought obvious disappointment. The most blameworthy was Tien Linh (cannot be as smooth as the French coach who said that anyone can make mistakes?) because with more than enough experience and more than enough class, in a situation where there was no danger, why did Tien Linh make such a foolish and disastrous mistake? Meanwhile, Van Cuong and Van Khang could not compete for high balls or low balls against their opponents. Thai Son "drove around empty" and was lost, while Dinh Bac was even more miserable when he passed the ball wrongly, missed the pass and clearly showed his confusion and lost himself when he first appeared on the big field.

The two goals conceded were largely due to Tien Anh's marking on the right wing when the match entered the second half, his physical strength began to decline, and Hoang Duc's haste in passing the ball to Tuan Tai, allowing the opponent to counterattack. And of course, the systematic errors of the defense in preventing high balls, Van Lam's errors in entering and exiting, Duy Manh's individual errors... are things that Mr. Troussier and his team must definitely review and take timely corrective measures.

Perhaps many people and Mr. Troussier will continue to praise the Vietnamese team's improved ball control ability against their opponents. That is of course not wrong, because holding the ball, having the ball is the basis for attacking, the most proactive and effective, not relying on luck. But the problem is holding the ball, passing it back and forth on the home field easily, accurately (very good for statistics) and then leading to any breakthrough, any opportunity and any result is completely absent. That is, when the opponent actively defends, actively anticipates (for example, they know that Vietnam passes diagonally to Van Cuong and from this player breaks down the wing, passes back to the second line to score a goal), then Van Cuong or Van Khang, the young men, are powerless against the high-strength concrete block that the opponent has set up.

The wings did not work well and in fact could not work well, Hoang Duc did not play at his best so he did not have the usual breakthrough passes, meaning the center also did not have bright ideas and ways, so everything was deadlocked, even openings leading to painful counterattacks were inevitable.

At this point, the story of the Vietnamese National Team's personnel began to reveal its shortcomings due to the selection process, especially the massive introduction of young players to the team to compete with continental-class opponents. Obviously, the weakness or failure to demonstrate the best inherent abilities of the Tien Anh-Viet Hung or Van Cuong-Van Khang duos further made knowledgeable people realize the haste to remove Van Hau-Tan Tai, the top defenders in Vietnam in recent years. Then, when these two players stabilize their injuries and fitness, will calling them back be the first thing to consider?

While Tuan Tai, despite being young, played well throughout the match, Ngoc Hai and Duy Manh showed their inability to play high-speed, high-speed football against their opponents. Tuan Anh still maintained the necessary softness and flexibility of a deep-lying midfielder, Hoang Duc was poised in many situations, but overall he played worse than his potential. Hung Dung could not show much, while the replacement Thai Son as well as many young players need to rub shoulders and accumulate more. Is the reason why V-League has not started convincing when a series of new and old factors have not shown real brilliance?

In the next two matches against Uzbekistan and especially the Korean team, the internal affairs of the Vietnamese team will certainly be fully and thoroughly exposed to the coaching staff. That is the time when Mr. Troussier and his team will learn a "broad set of wisdom" to draw their own experiences and lessons, supplement what is lacking, strengthen individual and collective strength in a common, unified effort, and multiply strength.

But now, a loss or a win is not a disaster or something serious when everything starts from November, the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, the long, arduous battle has just begun./.