Vietnam national football team must immediately improve these problems after losing to Thailand.

On the evening of December 23, the Vietnam National Team hadlost 0-2 to Thailandin the first leg of the AFF Cup 2020 semi-finals. The match took place with many opportunities created by the players of both teams, but the team from the Golden Pagoda was the one who took advantage better. In the first goal conceded by the Vietnam team, Nguyen Phong Hong Duy made a regrettable mistake when he slipped inexplicably, allowing Chanathip to benefit from a face-to-face situation with goalkeeper Nguyen Manh. In the second goal conceded, the entire Vietnamese defense system lost focus and allowed two Thai players to coordinate as if there was no one there to double the gap.

Besides the refereeing work, the Vietnam team also needs to seriously review itself after the loss to Thailand. In fact, we had a match that was worse than our opponent in many aspects, including weakness in defense and lack of luck in attack.

Vietnam national football team must immediately improve the problems after losing to Thailand.

1. Improve the quality of public goods

Vietnam's defense made many mistakes against Thailand.Photo: AFF

The problem is the efficiency of the Vietnamese national team's attack. Tien Linh, after his brilliant performance against Cambodia, almost disappeared in the match against Thailand. The Vietnamese national team is lacking a player who can finish off opportunities and convert them into goals. Players like Van Duc, Van Toan or Cong Phuong are not the type of players who can cut and sweep effectively.

It was this deadlock that forced the Golden Star Warriors to rely on Nguyen Quang Hai's long-range shots to find opportunities. After Duc Chinh entered the field, the Vietnamese team's attack improved somewhat. However, at this time, Thailand retreated deep to preserve the score.

2. Limit mistakes

It is a fact that the Vietnamese team was treated unfairly by the referee. However, we also have to look back at ourselves when there are unnecessary fouls. According to statistics, the Vietnamese team committed 21 fouls compared to 18 by the Thai team, including 1 situation that led to a penalty.

In the context of having to win the next match, the coaching staff needs to do psychological therapy to keep the players cool-headed, avoid unnecessary collisions that interrupt the match, and only make fouls when absolutely necessary. When the match is seamless, the Vietnamese team's play will be smooth, thereby completing the goal in the second leg.

3. Shake up the defense

The Vietnamese national team's defense has always been a source of pride under coach Park Hang Seo. We won the AFF Cup 2018 thanks to the support of our defense. In other arenas, over the past 4 years, with familiar factors, we have built a solid defense.

However, in the match against Thailand, the Vietnamese defenders did not play well. Nguyen Phong Hong Duy made a mistake when he missed the ball, leading to the opening goal for the opponent. Next was the situation where 3 central defenders left a gap in the central coordination of the "War Elephants" for Chanathip Songkrasin's second goal. In the final minutes, Duy Manh also had a naive tackle that caused the Vietnamese team to receive an 11m penalty.

After this match, coach Park Hang-seo needs to shake up the defense and come up with solutions to improve the defensive quality of the Golden Star Warriors in the next match.

Maintaining the formation distance is an important factor for Que Ngoc Hai and his opponents. Thailand often let their opponents get sucked into their play and then use a finishing move. Therefore, the Vietnamese national team's defense must ensure the formation distance, cover, and coordinate safe blocking.