Revealing the candidates for the 2022 AFF Cup championship

With the current situation, it is difficult for Myanmar to stop coach Park Hang-seo and his team from topping Group B. Vietnamese people have begun to think about the 2022 AFF Cup final between Vietnam and Thailand. Although since the tournament was founded 26 years ago, the Vietnamese team has only won once against the archipelago team in the third-place match of the 1996 AFF Cup with a score of 3-2, after the two teams had a 1-1 draw.

Impressions of Thailand

Thailand and Vietnam are two strong candidates. Photo: AFC

Without players playing abroad, Mr. Alexandre Polking had no difficulty in passing the group stage with 13 goals scored, 2 goals conceded. Only, Indonesia of coach Shin Tae-yong made it difficult for Thailand in a match where they had to play with one less player. But the "war elephants" still managed to equalize 1-1 in a match where they had 60% possession of the ball.

34-year-old Teerasil Dangda is leading the list of top scorers of the AFF Cup 2022 with 5 goals and 2 assists, far ahead of the 5 players behind who only have 3 goals and only Faisal Halim (Malaysia) still has a chance to compete. In the 4-4-2 formation of the Thai team, midfielder Theerathon Bunmathan is ranked 2nd in the list of assists (3 times), followed by Bordin Phala (2 times). 19-year-old Brunei striker Hakeme Yazid bin Said has had 4 assists, but has run out of chances to improve his personal record.

With coach Alexandre Polking understanding Southeast Asian football very well, with 3 students in high form Teerasil Dangda, Theerathon Bunmathan, Bordin Phala, Thailand is full of opportunities to successfully defend the championship. In the Thai squad, there are still names E. Panya, A. Kraisorn who can explode when going deep into the tournament. People have seen the starting formation with 4-4-2 but coach Alexandre Polking magically transformed it into 4-1-2-1-2, then 4-2-2-2 when competing with coach Shin Tae-yong.

Vietnam accelerates

Although key strikers such as Van Duc and Quang Hai have not yet entered the scoring list of the Vietnam National Team, there have been 8 players who have scored, of which Tien Linh has scored 2 goals. Tien Linh's opening header goals are very important for our Vietnam National Team. Quang Hai has just returned and is showing signs of muscle strain in the first match of the AFF Cup 2022, but has managed to give the team 1 assist. It is worth mentioning that all 3 lines have scored for the team and we have not conceded a goal, a quite impressive technical statistic.

It is clear that Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia have a gap with the rest of regional football. Indonesia has proven to be a tough opponent with its proactive defense, clinging to opponents all over the field based on good physical strength combined with long counter-attacks.

Coach Park is having his last days with the Vietnam National Team. Photo: VFF.

The opponent of the Vietnamese team in the semi-finals is likely to be Indonesia. Remember, Mr. Shin Tae-yong is a formidable opponent for coach Park. This Korean coach, new to Southeast Asian football, has drawn with coach Park. If he meets Indonesia in the semi-finals, it will be a challenge for coach Park Hang-seo and his team, because for the past 26 years, we have never won against this opponent in the AFF Cup arena. The Vietnamese team was eliminated by Indonesia in the semi-finals of the 2016 AFF Cup when we lost 1-2 away and drew 2-2 at My Dinh Stadium. Mr. Shin Tae-yong finished second in the 2020 AFF Cup after leading Indonesia to the final and only lost to coach Polking's Thailand.