Mr. Park and the nostalgia for the midfield at AFF Cup 2018

With a 3-4-3 tactical formation and a very strong midfield, Mr. Park brought home the cup.AFF Cup2nd after exactly 10 years of waiting. This time, coach Park Hang-seo has to renew the midfield when all 4 names who were regular starters 3 years ago cannot go to Singapore.

Missing the old face

Van Hau has been absent from the national team for 5 months now. Photo: VFF

If Huy Hung and Hung Dung are considered players with a high-energy playing style and are quite stubborn in the midfield, Hoang Duc and Tuan Anh tend to play with technique. Among the names mentioned above, Hung Dung's absence is the most regrettable because this club's midfielder plays quite versatilely, when needed, he can play on the wing to make way for Quang Hai.

In addition to his ability to compete, Hung Dung also has powerful long-range shots. Naturalized players from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are quite hesitant when facing this 28-year-old midfielder. Many people regret that this steel-like midfielder cannot participate in the AFF Cup 2021.

Meanwhile, the midfielder born in 1992 is in the prime of his career but is not in good form. After 6 years playing for Quang Nam, Huy Hung has returned to play for Da Nang and is on the way to recovering his form. But perhaps the number of times this midfielder has participated in the national team will be stuck at 20 for quite a while when his junior Hoang Duc is playing quite well. Mr. Park still has Duc Huy as a backup in case of need. Many people think that Huy Hung lost his place in the national team because Quang Nam Club does not have a good coach to train and direct this former player.

Trong Hoang’s inability to come to Singapore also left a lot of regret, especially for SLNA fans. With 58 appearances for the national team, the 32-year-old midfielder is Coach Park’s “favorite” because of his enthusiastic, intelligent and highly unpredictable playing style. Hoang “the cow” can play as both a defender and midfielder in the 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 formations of the Vietnam national team.

With his international experience, Trong Hoang is often assigned to defuse heated situations on the field. Many intentional fouls by Trong Hoang have reduced the excitement of the opponent and protected the team's goal.

After the match with UAE at the end of the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, Van Hau had to rest for 5 months now. The Korean coach has used 3 experimental players in this position and in fact he is not really satisfied. Hong Duy is a solution with a clear line in attack but still uncertain in defense.

Newcomer's Mission

Missing Trong Hoang. Photo: VFF

In the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia, when both Trong Hoang and Van Hau did not play, the overlap of the Vietnamese team was much less. More than anyone else, Van Duc missed Van Hau, because they played very well on the left wing 3 years ago to help the team win the 2018 AFF Cup. With Van Hau, Van Duc was freed from defensive duties and had more opportunities to play closer to the opponent's goal.

Recently, when playing with the 3-4-3 formation, Hoang Duc and Tuan Anh will be the number 1 choice for the central midfielder position. When switching to 3-5-2, the trio Quang Hai, Hoang Duc and Tuan Anh are chosen, in which Tuan Anh plays the lowest position to recover the ball. Regardless of the player in the midfield, their first goal is to successfully defend the AFF Cup championship, which is considered not easy.