Identifying SLNA's strong opponents at AFC Cup
(Baonghean.vn) - On February 28, after the National Super Cup match against Quang Nam, SLNA will enter the second match of Group H, AFC Cup 2018, welcoming Johor Darul Tazim Club from Malaysia.
Johor Darul Tazim, SLNA's opponent, is the most successful team in Malaysia's professional football era. Currently, the team of Prince Ismail (President of the Malaysian Football Federation, 33 years old) is the current M-League champion and last year was the fourth consecutive season for this team.
In the 2018 Malaysian National Championship, after 3 rounds, JDT has 2 wins, 1 loss and is temporarily ranked 2nd. 2015 was the peak year for this team's achievements when they won the treble including M-League championship, National Cup championship and AFC Cup championship.
This 2018 continental football season, JDT was defeated by Muangthong United of Thailand in two Champions League play-off matches and was relegated to the AFC Cup. However, the Malaysian representative is still a stronger opponent than SLNA in terms of strength.
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| Malaysia captain Safiq Rahim was the "locomotive" that brought Johor Darul Ta'zim Club to the glory of the AFC Cup 2015. This midfielder is one of the 10 players with the most worth-watching style of play in the AFC Cup 2018. |
To achieve such remarkable achievements, the Malaysian team possesses a series of big stars. We can mention the midfielder Safiq Rahim, who was once part of the famous trio Safiq - Talaha - Safee in the Malaysian team that won the AFF Cup 2010. The main squad JDT is also the backbone of the Malaysian national team with 10 faces spread across the lines, 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 2 strikers.
Hazwan Bakri (born in 1991) is the most notable domestic striker on the Malaysian team with 25 appearances for the national team, scoring 7 goals. Although this striker is quite excellent, he is only a supporting actor for foreign strikers.
In the 2018 season, the Malaysian giants brought in two new Argentinian players, J. Pereyra Díaz and L. Figueroa, who both scored in the 2018 M-League. Thus, along with attacking midfielder G. Cabrera, JDT now owns three Argentinian foreign players, one Spanish midfielder, one Singaporean midfielder (national player H. Harun), two Brazilian defenders and one Canadian defender.
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| Top stars of the Malaysian representative. Photo: Internet |
On the afternoon of February 28, SLNA will host this royal team at Vinh Stadium. If in the first match, coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team went to Singapore to play away and defeated Tampines Rovers 2-0, then at home JDT also defeated Persija Jakarta 3-0. Because of this better goal difference, after the first match, SLNA ranked second in Group H, behind JDT.
According to AFC regulations, SLNA participating in the AFC Cup will be allowed to register 3 foreign players, 1 foreign player of Asian origin and 1 naturalized player, but will only be allowed to register and use 2 foreign players and 1 naturalized player in 1 V.League 2018 match.
SLNA's opponent is possessing really quality foreign players, while SLNA has not yet finalized foreign players until February 24th. If there is one more foreign player, the Nghe An team can get a draw against the "giant" Malaysia, which is also a success.
Muangthong United 5 - 2 Johor Darul Ta'zim (Highlight - AFC Champions League 2018 - January 23, 2018)
SLNA "handicap" foreign players in the National Super Cup match against the V.League champion
(Baonghean.vn) - The two teams that will face each other in the 2017 National Super Cup, Quang Nam and Song Lam Nghe An, are rushing to complete the final preparations before entering the new season.
