Vietnam National Team: Strength and playing style are gradually 'draining'

But both of those things still did not come when the home team's strength increasingly revealed many limitations, while the opponent was at another level, even though they had only gathered 2 days before the match!

Vietnam national team can only coordinate small on the wing. Photo: Dan Viet

Cong Phuongwas sent into the field from the beginning, so Van Duc could only enter the field from the beginning of the second half. It is inherent that Mr. Park Hang-seo continues to trust Tuan Anh even though in 5 consecutive matches this player only played the first half, and had a complete rest in the second half. Against an opponent who played close and fast, Tuan Anh had absolutely no chance to turn around and hold the ball, so the transition bridge was almost completely destroyed. The Vietnamese team could only coordinate a little on the wing, but almost quickly went bankrupt. A few quick counter-attack opportunities opened up, but the opponent played tightly to neutralize or pressed, causing us to pass hastily or pass incorrectly.

In contrast to previous matches, Hoang Duc in this match was tightly sandwiched between the opponent's quick midfielders, so he only had a few opportunities to break free to play the ball or shoot hastily. The best player was still Quang Hai with his clever handling, convenient and clever passes to his teammates. It seemed that when he returned to My Dinh Stadium, Quang Hai was like a fish in water, so he showed his full ability and strengths, creating a very important mental motivation for his teammates.

On the Japanese side, speed and fluidity are what make it impossible for the home players to control the space and time of the game. A very quick coordination near the edge can put Tan Truong's goal in an alarming state. A situation of changing wings or high balls, a speed race by the opponent can easily leave Duy Manh or Hong Duy behind, leading to a goal later (like the situation in the 17th minute) or Ngoc Hai's missed hook (luckily the opponent then shot over the bar), Tuan Anh's foul and yellow card, Tien Dung's dangerous loss of the ball...

And most notably, the opponent's pressure always made Van Duc almost lose all feeling for the ball in his feet, making mistakes on top of mistakes, becoming the one who "entered late, left early", very disappointing for the main factor of SLNA's "oven", continuing the series of disappointments from SLNA factors at U23 Vietnam. While Xuan Manh still had no chance to enter the field even though Hong Duy continued to be the place where the opponent exploited to score goals or Van Thanh was tightly pressed in the home field, with very few opportunities to rush forward as usual.

In fact, everyone knew in advance what level the Japanese players were at and in this match, they did not have to exert all their strength to earn the necessary 3 points. The Japanese head coach replaced all 5 players quite early, including Ito and Minamino... Just like Australia before, the opponent played aggressively, calculatedly, exerted energy when needed and then continued to play as safely as possible.

Against Japan, Van Toan or Cong Phuong could accelerate or play skillfully a couple of times, but clearly could not have the final passes with high damage. It is very difficult to disrupt the opponent's defense, on the contrary, the Vietnam team almost only kicked the ball long from Tan Truong, which is almost a situation of "giving the ball" to the opponent far from the home team's goal, but it is still more possible than coordinating and losing the ball near the home team's goal!

The problem for the Vietnam national team after consecutive losses in the third qualifying round is whether they can continue to stand firm to defend the AFF Cup title in December or will they collapse in a chain reaction? In theory, the third qualifying round is more difficult, but the AFF Cup is certainly not easy to win! Therefore, should expected and trusted players such as Tuan Anh, Van Duc, Hong Duy, Van Thanh... who have not shown much be supplemented with new elements? Waiting for Hung Dung and Trong Hoang to return is something to consider, but giving opportunities to new players who are eager to contribute certainly needs to be considered more by Mr. Park.

It seems that things will not be simple. Earning 1 point has been a struggle for months. Defending the AFF Cup throne, which has long been considered a "village affair", seems to be even more difficult when the Vietnam National Team has just passed a mountain climbing stage, everything has been exposed to the opponent, the "wizard" has exhausted his skills, the trust in the new factors is only fleeting, that's all...