Refreshing the national team's attack

After Anh Duc left the national team, Tien Linh was the player chosen by coach Park Hang-seo for the center forward position, regardless of the formation. With a height of 1.80m and a weight of 72kg, the Binh Duong player plays well with high balls and can act as a wall for other satellites. This center forward has a simple playing style and has so far scored 5 goals in the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, not a bad number.

Cong Phuong is the hope of coach Park. Photo: Hai Hoang

Tien Linh's weakness is his ability to cover, hold the ball and fight independently, waiting for his teammates to rush forward. In front of the tall defenders of Saudi Arabia, the 23-year-old Australian striker seemed to disappear. When Quang Hai and Van Duc had to retreat to join the defense, Tien Linh could do nothing against the opponent's defensive walls. Crosses from the sidelines by Van Toan, Trong Hoang, and Van Thanh also did not reach this young man's heads.

In the match against China, the central defender Ang Li is 1.87m tall and the player with mixed English-Chinese blood Jiang Guangtai is only 1.80m tall but has trained and played for U23 Everton and played extremely impressively in the air. This shows that if the 3-4-3 formation with Tien Linh as the center forward would not have much effect. Central defender Jiang Guangtai plays simple football, ready to collide but very effective, persistently clinging.

In the two matches against China and Oman, with the goal of getting points, Coach Park had to turn back to the attack. In addition to the Duc Chinh and Van Toan options, in the two practice matches against U22 Vietnam, Coach Park played with a 3-5-2 formation, using the striker pair Cong Phuong - Tuan Hai. Compared to Tien Linh, Cong Phuong's ball control ability is much better, the Do Luong guy handles the ball very skillfully in the 16.5m area.

In the two practice matches with U22 Vietnam, Cong Phuong has scored 3 goals. This player, who is valued at 15 billion VND by Ho Chi Minh City Club, only needs to have the right mindset when deciding to break in or hold the ball and wait for teammates to attack to become more dangerous. Meanwhile, Tuan Hai, a player from Hong Linh Ha Tinh, is playing well as a satellite and has powerful long-range shots.

Obviously, when predicting that the attacking pressure of China and Oman is lower than that of Saudi Arabia and Australia, Mr. Park's calculation is reasonable. Instead of placing Tien Linh up front and waiting for 2-3 teammates to attack, he chose Cong Phuong and Tuan Hai to hide in front of the opponent's 16.5m area. Thus, when playing defensive counter-attacks, the number of players participating in the attack is not too inferior to the opponent.

Rookie Tuan Hai is being tested by Mr. Park. Photo: Thanhnien

The pass-pass pieces in a narrow range between Cong Phuong, Tuan Hai, Quang Hai or the dynamic triangle with 2 peaks being Cong Phuong, Tuan Hai, the 3rd peak could be Trong Hoang, Van Toan, Van Duc will be considered flexible and dangerous because of Cong Phuong's good personal technique. In the Hong Linh Ha Tinh shirt, Tuan Hai is also used in this position and this player not only participates in pressing, but also assists and scores when there is a chance. Compared to Van Duc and Van Toan, Tuan Hai's playing style uses more physical strength, if there are more tricks, twisting the flank, the pair Cong Phuong and Tuan Hai are also worth watching.