Malaysia - Vietnam (2-2): Yellow card rain

In this match, Malaysian players used many tricks. Photo: Trung Kien

Mr. Park Hang-Seo continued to surprise when he let Ha Duc Chinh play as a center forward instead of the "veteran" Anh Duc who was in good form. In the central midfield position, Huy Hung played with Duc Huy, Mr. Park did not want to take risks with Hung Dung because there were still 90 minutes left at My Dinh Stadium.

Homeowner "transforms"

It seems that the Korean coach is calculating the personnel for the two home and away matches, not just for the 90 minutes of the match at the “Bukit Jalil fire pit”. As usual, the Vietnamese team still took the field with the familiar 3-4-3 formation, with players in very good form such as Van Duc and Quang Hai in the attack.

Coach Tan Cheng Hoe made only one change, A. Aznan replaced right-back Syahmi Safari who had to sit out due to a red card in the second leg of the semi-final against Thailand. With the home field advantage, the Malaysian players fought fiercely for the ball, quickly controlling the ball to push the Vietnamese players towards goalkeeper Van Lam's goal.

Malaysian players had 64% ball possession and made 210 passes. Photo: Trung Kien

The Malaysian players did exactly as coach Tan Cheng Hoe intended, playing fiercely, holding the ball 64% of the time, making 210 passes (first half) - all technical indicators were better than Vietnam, except for the number of shots and goals. On a sublime day, Nghe An player Van Duc left his mark on both goals by Huy Hung and Duc Huy. Van Duc's passes twisted the flanks of central defenders Irfan Zakaria and Shahrul Saad, creating conditions for the second line to score.

With the two central midfielders Huy Hung and Duc Huy scoring goals, people once again admired the talent of Park Hang-seo in using people. That is the answer to why he chose these two players despite having other central midfielders like Xuan Truong and Hung Dung.

Phan Van Duc made his mark on both goals of the Vietnamese team. Photo: Trung Kien.

In fact, if Duc Chinh and substitute Tien Linh had handled the situations better against goalkeeper Farizal, we would have had more than 2 goals. Quang Hai in this match had many passes with good landing points, creating favorable conditions for his teammates to advance.

Compared to the first leg, Malaysia made many overlapping passes in this match. The two wingers Safawi and Sumareh continuously switched wings to surprise the Vietnamese defense. Despite a lot of pressure, the home team's equalizer 1-2 came from a set-piece situation, with center-back Shahrul Saad heading the ball in an unmarked situation.

The second goal was also from a set-piece on the right wing. Midfielder Safawi Rasid curled a left-footed shot into the top corner of goalkeeper Van Lam. As Goal Malaysia predicted, the best way to make Vietnam lose this match is for the Malaysian players to put pressure on Vietnam from the start of the match. Being affected by the competitive mentality has long been a weakness of the Vietnamese team because they are made up of many young players.

Both goals of the Vietnamese team had the skillful assistance of Van Duc. Photo: Trung Kien

It seems that Malaysia's invitation of "wizard" Rajagobal Krishnasamy - who won the Vietnam team at the 2009 SEA Games and the 2010 AFF Cup - to "give tips" before this match has worked. Compared to the first leg, the Malaysian players played much better.

With 8 yellow cards and 4 goals, more than 80,000 Malaysian and Vietnamese spectators witnessed a heated match at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Know yourself, know others

More than anyone else, Mr. Park was the one who did not get caught up in Malaysia's style of play by making substitutions. If Duc Chinh, after fulfilling his duty of exhausting the opponent and wasting many scoring opportunities, then Cong Phuong replacing Duc Huy and Hung Dung replacing Van Duc was a quite wise calculation.

Cong Phuong will maintain the attacking position, not allowing the Malaysian players to push up their formation to seek victory. Meanwhile, midfielder Hung Dung will come in to reinforce the midfield, protecting the 2-2 score when Mr. Tan decided to play "all or nothing" by sending 3 attacking players onto the field as substitutes.

The Malaysian players' "Hanoi appointment" is therefore more attractive than ever!

At the end of the match, the Vietnamese players went to the stands to thank the fans for their enthusiastic support. Photo: Trung Kien.

Starting lineup

Malaysia (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper:Farizal

Defender:Amirul Azhan Aznan, Irfan Zakaria, Shahrul Saad, Nazirul Naim

Midfielder:Akram Mahinan, Syamer Kutty, Safawi Rasid, Mohamadou Sumareh

Forward:Norshahrul Idlan, Zaquan Adha

Vietnam (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper:Dang Van Lam

Defender:Que Ngoc Hai, Tran Dinh Trong, Do Duy Manh

Midfielder:Doan Van Hau, Nguyen Huy Hung, Pham Duc Huy, Nguyen Trong Hoang

Forward:Phan Van Duc, Ha Duc Chinh, Nguyen Quang Hai