When the Vietnamese team competes fairly with the Thai team

The Vietnamese team has competed fairly with top continental teams such as Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, etc., so having to face regional opponents such as Thailand or Singapore will not be a cause for concern or worry when the Vietnamese team is about to face Thailand in the upcoming semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2020.

Besides that is… the fear of saying anything, even ifVietnam National Teamreaching the top of the region 3 years ago, being the only team to enter the 3rd Qualifying Round mentioned above, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team have yet to beat the Thai team in an official tournament. In the two most recent matches in the 2nd Qualifying Round, the two teams drew both matches (0-0). What is memorable is that in the second leg at My Dinh Stadium, the Vietnamese team was forced to play the field, was awarded a penalty but luckily goalkeeper Van Lam successfully blocked it.

Dominating the entire match, the Vietnamese team still could not score against Indonesia. Photo: VFF

At present, it is clear that the two teams have to meet each other in the two early finals, the semi-finals of the AFF Cup because both of course "dream" of playing in two finals but the result will only be for one team after the results of the two matches. Although the Thai people are confident that "they will not lose to the Vietnamese team" as Chanathip said, they are also surprised and worried when they have to "compete" with Vietnam in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, both coach Park Hang-seo and his students agreed to say that "if you want to win the championship, you must win everything" and "are not afraid to meet Thailand in the semi-finals" but after that, who knows what is hidden?

At this point, in the end, any “viewpoint” is not as important as the reality of the match, the way the Vietnamese team played, the way they handled things… in both matches. The historical story of “fearing the Thais” and “losing before even entering the match” is a thing of the past 4 years ago, and now there is absolutely no question of who is afraid of who, but it is a fair fight, it is only when someone creates and takes advantage of better opportunities to gain an advantage.

Vietnam team in the match against Cambodia. Photo: Hai Hoang

It is true that the Thais are determined, have real strength, and play better and better, but remember that with full strength, they did not play well at all in the match against the Philippines in the group stage, even though they won 2-1? Although the Thai team easily won against Singapore 2-0 with the second team, who knows, when "matching teams" in the semi-final, everything will return to the same situation as in the match against the Philippines? And the opponent is the Vietnam team, not the Singapore team or the Philippines team, so it will not be easy for the Thais to "pocket" a win, when at least in the past 4 years, they have not wanted to receive a draw, if not always wanting to win easily like many years ago?

Everyone knows that if put on the scale, the quality of the current Thai players is superior to that of the Vietnamese players, when they have a star squad playing in Korea and Japan, not to mention the Thai expatriate squad with better physique and fitness than the players in the Southeast Asian region. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese national team is 100% domestic players playing in the V. League, the squad has many changes due to a series of key players being injured, but this is definitely a "star team", united, dedicated and above all, a high-class Korean coaching staff. That is what allows the Vietnamese players to not be afraid when facing opponents in the region and continent. Once the mind is always clear, the feet will always be light when entering the match, every move will be executed perfectly and more creatively than ever.

Vietnam team fought with a never-give-up spirit at AFF Cup. Photo: Hai Hoang

Certainly, solving the psychological problem of Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will decide everything in the upcoming two semi-final matches against Thailand. Even though the Vietnamese team has lost more than one day of rest, even though there were a few mistakes in the group stage matches, but once fully determining the mindset, advantages, and spirit of a team determined to win, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will overcome all obstacles and difficulties, regardless of whether the opponent is Thai or anyone else.

Not to mention, when meeting the Thais again, the Vietnamese team, whether they want it or not, will return to their "defensive-counterattack" style of play, a valuable weapon that has not been used in the 4 group stage matches by their weak opponents. The Thais can find ways to limit the explosion of Quang Hai, Hoang Duc... but the Vietnamese team still has many other factors that can cause changes, never easily giving up and letting the opponent do whatever they want, if not to say that there will be valuable, formidable counterattacks at any time?

And of course, those will be good matches of regional football, or from the technical area to every centimeter of grass, or from the time the match schedule is announced until the match has ended, the press and public opinion are still buzzing and admiring. That is what is gained, what makes the "victory" attractive and appealing of football, of the endless competition in football and life...