Looking back at the marks of Nghe An players at the AFF Cup
(Baonghean.vn) - In the Vietnamese team participating in the AFF Cup 2020, there are 7 faces from Nghe An: Tran Nguyen Manh, Nguyen Van Hoang, Que Ngoc Hai, Pham Xuan Manh, Phan Van Duc, Nguyen Cong Phuong and Tran Van Dat.
As predicted by fans, Nguyen Van Hoang and Tran Van Dat were the only two players from Nghe An who did not play a single minute in this year's AFF Cup. While Nguyen Van Hoang had to be a substitute for Tran Nguyen Manh and Bui Tan Truong, Tran Van Dat was not even once on the official list of 23 players registered before each match.
A little luckier than Nguyen Van Hoang and Tran Van Dat is the case of Pham Xuan Manh. It was not until the last minutes of the two semi-final matches against the Thai team that Coach Park Hang-seo sent Manh "Kalou" onto the field. The situation where Theerathon Bunmathan fouled him in the 90+2 minute of the second leg of the semi-final was Pham Xuan Manh's most notable mark at the tournament taking place in Singapore.
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| Tran Nguyen Manh has made an impressive return to the Vietnam National Team. Photo courtesy |
Unlike Nguyen Van Hoang and Pham Xuan Manh, the remaining 4 players, Tran Nguyen Manh, Que Ngoc Hai, Phan Van Duc, Nguyen Cong Phuong, were all used to the maximum by Coach Park Hang-seo. Objectively, Tran Nguyen Manh and Que Ngoc Hai are 2 of the best players of the Vietnam National Team at the AFF Cup 2020.
Thanks to the excellence of the two players mentioned above,Vietnam teambecame the team with the second fewest goals conceded after the Thai team. Before saying goodbye to Singapore, goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh only had to pick the ball out of the net twice. Don't forget, Tran Nguyen Manh and Que Ngoc Hai were the main factors that caused Chanathip Songkrasin to miss a penalty in the first leg of the semi-final.
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| Nguyen Cong Phuong did not play very successfully at the AFF Cup 2020. Photo: The Vu |
However, looking at the performances of Nghe An players at the AFF Cup 2020, experts and football fans of Nghe An are still not really satisfied with the performance of Phan Van Duc and Nguyen Cong Phuong. Despite being "favored" by coach Park Hang-seo, it is regrettable that the "killer" pair from Nghe An did not perform as expected.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the main reason for the failure of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2020 was the harmlessness of the attack, for which Phan Van Duc and Nguyen Cong Phuong must bear part of the responsibility. 3 goals (Phan Van Duc 1 goal, Nguyen Cong Phuong 2 goals) is too modest an achievement given the inherent talent of the Nghe An striker duo./.
