Iraq and Vietnam tonight: Fragile World Cup dream

If they win against Iraq, the Vietnam national football team (VNT) will take second place from their opponents. 9:00 p.m. tonight, March 29, PAS Stadium (Tehran, Iran): Iraq - Vietnam (VTV6 live broadcast), Nghe An Newspaper connects the transmission.

The spirit of the Vietnamese national team is high after a convincing 4-1 victory over Taiwan in the previous round. Under the leadership of coach Nguyen Huu Thang, the team has demonstrated an effective playing style, suitable for the physical condition of the Vietnamese people. The strategist born in 1971 has successfully combined 3 generations of Vietnamese players, in which the role of players in their early 20s such as Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Van Toan, Van Thanh... stands out.

Head to head record between the two teams.

On the contrary, Iraq showed instability on the coaching bench when coach Yahya Alwan suddenly resigned after the 2-2 draw with Thailand on the evening of March 24. That situation forced the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) to replace him with coach of the U23 team Abdul Ghani Shahad. The 2007 Asian Cup champion team has no way back. Only victory can help them maintain their chances of advancing.

In the first leg, Vietnam had a commendable match, forcing their opponents to chase the score. Coach Toshiya Miura then deployed a reasonable defensive and counter-attacking strategy, limiting Iraq's strength to the maximum, while creating many clear scoring opportunities. But in the end, the team had to accept a 1-1 draw after Younis Mahmoud's successful penalty kick in the 90+7 minute.

Currently, the Japanese coach has left, but according to many Vietnamese football experts, his playing style in the first leg is a suggestion for Huu Thang. Former SLNA coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh analyzed: "The playing style that coach Nguyen Huu Thang is building has promoted the short passing and small coordination style of the HAGL players. However, we must find a way to counterattack quickly to have a chance to penetrate the opponent's defense."

Expected lineup of Iraq National Team.

Expected lineup of Vietnam National Team.

Mr. Vinh used to be Huu Thang’s coach at Nghe An football team. He thinks that the Vietnam national team coach should use a pair of central midfielders who are good at fighting and defending in the midfield area, Hoang Thinh – Duy Manh, to limit the opponent’s strength. Meanwhile, Tuan Anh or Xuan Truong will be used flexibly.

In addition, the team must also promote quick passing, switching from defense to counterattack. Situations such as Que Ngoc Hai passing the ball from home field to Dinh Hoang, allowing this player to cross inside for Van Toan to score the second goal against Taiwan (China) are encouraged.

Due to security reasons, Iraq was forced to choose a neutral stadium in Iran as their home ground. They lost many advantages but in all aspects, they are still better than the Vietnamese team. However, coach Huu Thang and his players are very confident in this rematch. That is the basis for fans to hope for a surprising result from Cong Vinh and his teammates.

Some information about the situation of the two teams - Iraq's performance at PAS Stadium was quite good. They beat Taiwan 5-1 and drew Thailand 2-2. Vietnam also left a strong impression when playing away from home. They lost to Thailand 0-1 and beat Taiwan 2-1. - Iraq currently has 9 points, if they defeat Vietnam, they will have 12 points, thereby having many opportunities to enter the top 4 second-place teams with the best results - the condition to win the right to continue to the third qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup, and at the same time win a ticket to the 2019 Asian Cup. Vietnam defeated Iraq and only had 10 points, it is very difficult to compete for the best second-place ticket with the UAE, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea... But if they take the second place from Iraq, the Vietnamese team will have many advantages when drawing lots to divide the group for the third qualifying round of the 2019 Asian Cup. - In the history of the two previous meetings, Iraq has never lost to Vietnam (won 1, drew 1). The most memorable match between the two teams was in the quarter-finals of the 2007 Asian Cup. At that time, Iraq defeated Vietnam 2-0 thanks to a brace from striker Younis Mahmoud. After that, they went on to win the championship. Currently, Iraq's squad still has 2 remaining members from 2007, including Younis Mahmoud and goalkeeper Noor Sabri. Most likely, they will still be on the field on the evening of March 29. Vietnam only has Le Cong Vinh participating in the match 9 years ago. - Iraq's best striker in the group stage was Younis Madmous with 4 goals scored, and for the national team it was Le Cong Vinh with 3 goals. Group F Ranking

According toZing.vn