Performance of Nghe An players in Thailand

At this point, Trong Hoang and Que Ngoc Hai are among the players with the most seniority in the Vietnam national team. The match against Thailand at Thammasat Stadium was the 49th time (the most for the team), Hoang “crawled” onto the field, and Que Ngoc Hai was on the field for the 34th time.

Courage and experience

That explains why Mr. Park used the "trick" of reporting to his favorite newspapers about the injuries of Van Hau and Trong Hoang, but still called these two players to the national team. Along with Huy Hung, Trong Hoang is the best "Thai treatment" expert of the Vietnam National Team. From the time he faced Chanathip at the AFF Cup 2012 until now, this Nghe An native has prevented "Thai Messi" Chanathip from scoring against the Vietnam National Team after 5 matches.

Trong Hoang has not been in his best form since his injury. Photo: Trung Kien

It seems that the “right wing leader” Trong Hoang is constantly facing off against the agile 21-year-old Supachok (voted “Player of the Match”) and defender Theerathon, who is playing in J1.League (Japan). Hoang’s physical strength does not allow him to “crawl” for the entire match, but in the minutes on the field, the SLNA player still shows his unmistakable qualities.

True Leader

Center back Ngoc Hai plays in the middle of the 3-man defense, he attacks from the left and right to cover Duy Manh (right wing) and Tien Dung (left wing). Having faced “Thai Messi” Chanathip many times, he has passed on his experience to his juniors to neutralize this attacking midfielder.

In Mr. Park's 3-4-3 formation, the team advocates "giving the ball, not giving the field", so the roles of the defensive center back and the 2 defensive midfielders are extremely important. Any decision to rush out to block, if not accurate, will be immediately paid for and captain Que Ngoc Hai did not disappoint the trust of the fans as well as the team's coaching staff.

When the Vietnamese national team's defense was in disarray due to injuries, Que Ngoc Hai performed well as a leader and commander of the defense. The central defender from Nghe An made many accurate long passes to Van Toan. Photo: Trung Kien

Vietnamese fans witnessed a Que Ngoc Hai playing football responsibly, like a warrior rushing into battle. Having to endure the pain for 40 minutes, the captain of the Vietnamese team still shouted at his teammates to "give and take" but did not act rashly, easily falling into the opponent's trap.

In a match where referee Al-Adba Saoud Ali “showed cards”, the opponent always had dirty actions, foul play, and provocation, but the reactions of the Vietnamese players were “just enough”, so the first credit goes to the captain on the field.

It is no coincidence that Tuan Anh and Que Ngoc Hai were the two players who received the highest scores from the regional press in the goalless draw. This was a match in which the Nghe An-born player performed well both professionally and as a captain on the field.

Faded

Cong Phuong only came on the field from the bench, playing as a center forward. Perhaps Mr. Park's intention was to let the Nghe An boy earn a free kick rather than do something great when facing the tall Thai center backs. As the last person to join the national team, it seemed that Cong Phuong had encountered too many difficulties.

Cong Phuong could not score against Thailand. Photo: Trung Kien

Cong Phuong is a player with basic training and good skills. But how to use him effectively is quite a headache for Mr. Park, especially when he has to continue to be a reserve in Europe. What will the future of the striker from Nghe An be like when his ball sense is getting worse and worse?

A little consolation for Nghe An fans when the Vietnam national team is missing SLNA players is that there are still Ngoc Hai and Trong Hoang, who are the pillars of coach Park. And there are signs that the day Tuan Tai is called up to the national team is not far away./.