Vietnam - Cambodia (3-0): The strong imprint of SLNA players

The Vietnamese team only needed a draw to advance. However, coach Park Hang-seo and his team created a red storm at Hang Day Stadium against a lower-rated opponent to compete for the top spot.

5 changes

The Vietnamese team still applied the “Park-ball” style of play in the match against Cambodia with a 3-4-3 formation but with 5 changes. The central midfielder pair Hung Dung - Duc Huy started the game, with Hong Duy replacing Van Hau.

The attack line consists of the trio Tien Linh, Van Duc and Quang Hai, Mr. Park let Anh Duc and Cong Phuong play on the bench. Nghe An player, center back Que Ngoc Hai continues to be trusted with the captain's armband.

Mr. Park continues to prove his coaching talent at the AFF Cup. Photo: TK

The Angkor team just won against Laos with a score of 3-1, the first victory in the tournament since 2002. The students of Japanese football star Keisuke Honda were quite comfortable when coming to Hang Day Stadium because they were officially eliminated from the AFF Cup 2018.

The biggest surprise was that star Chan Vathanaka was not placed on the field by coach Keisuke Honda. The player nicknamed "Cambodian Messi" scored 2 goals at the AFF Cup 2018, and scored a hat-trick against Becamex Binh Duong at the Mekong Cup 2015 at Hang Day. He also scored against goalkeeper Dang Van Lam in a 1-2 loss in the third qualifying round of the 2019 Asian Cup.

Playing highest up front in the away team's 4-5-1 formation is striker K.Sin (16), a player who made his debut at the 2018 AFF Cup. Coach Keisuke Honda sent a series of reserve players onto the field to gain experience in the Southeast Asian regional arena, such as defenders Chihin Chhoeun (17), Thiva (20)...

Coach Park did not ask his players to speed up right from the start of the match. Quang Hai controlled the game and played steadily, combining attacking passes in the middle with long-range shots. Van Duc, Duc Huy, and Quang Hai continuously fired at goalkeeper Oum Vicheth's goal (22). But it is clear that "online" coach Keisuke Honda has changed the face of the Cambodian team after a short time working.

The players of the country of pagodas have become much more confident after each match. In many situations, they also played very tough, not afraid to block or foul the home players.

Trong Hoang assisted Tien Linh to score the second goal. Photo: TK

It was not until the 39th minute, from a pass from Trong Hoang, with the advantage of height, that Tien Linh jumped high and headed the ball to break the deadlock. The top scorer in the 2018 V-League of B.Binh Duong had an impressive second match at the AFF Cup.

In the beginning of the second half, Nghe An player Phan Van Duc scored his first goal at this AFF Cup with a powerful long-range shot, the ball hitting the top of the Cambodian net.

This is a worthy reward after the tireless efforts of player number 20 throughout the past time. It is a goal that demonstrates the class and tactical vision of the player playing for SLNA, worthy of being the best player of the match along with Quang Hai.

Coach Park sent Cong Phuong and Van Quyet onto the field to increase breakthroughs in the 16.5m area, while Tien Dung replaced Ngoc Hai to gradually get used to the feeling of the ball.

Set a record

The red shirt players had 25 shots on goal and 50% of them were on target, with 582 passes, an accurate passing rate of 85%, all of which are technical numbers reflecting the superior level of the Vietnamese team.

Ngoc Hai continues to be trusted with the responsibility of captain. Van Duc scored his first goal at AFF Cup 2018. Photo: TK

With a 3-0 victory, the Vietnamese team topped Group A because in the match at the same time, host Malaysia also beat Myanmar 3-0. This is the second time our team has kept a clean sheet after the AFF Cup group stage, a very proud achievement, this is also a new record of this tournament.

What was quite interesting in this match was that the 3 Nghe An players in the starting lineup, Trong Hoang, Van Duc, and Ngoc Hai, all left the field after playing quite well.

The trio of Nghe An players had their mark on 2 out of 3 goals of the Vietnamese team. Ngoc Hai did not score a goal but did a good job as captain on the field.