AFF Suzuki Cup 2016: Identifying Vietnam's opponents

(Baonghean.vn) -The 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup unfolded without many surprises. In Group A, Thailand secured a 4-2 victory over Indonesia and emerged as a strong contender for the title, while hosts Philippines were held to a 0-0 draw by Singapore despite playing with a man advantage. In Group B, Vietnam narrowly defeated hosts Myanmar 2-1, while Malaysia beat Cambodia 3-2 in a closely contested match.

On Fox Sport Asia, after watching the first round of matches, Radojko Avramovic, former coach of the Myanmar national team, predicted that both Vietnam and Thailand would qualify for the semi-finals as group winners. Having coached Singapore to victory in the AFF Cup in 2004, 2007, and 2012, Avramovic has considerable knowledge of regional football, so his assessment has garnered significant attention from experts.

Unlike Avramovic, we believe that despite the 2-4 loss, Alfred Riedl's team is still considered superior to Singapore and the Philippines. Perhaps the Indonesian players were overly excited and wanted to finish off Thailand after two consecutive equalizing goals in the 54th (Erwin Solossa) and 56th (Eliandry Baru) minutes, which led to their defeat. Speaking after the match, Coach Kiatisak admitted that Thailand was luckier than their Indonesian opponents. He said: "The first match is always difficult, and Indonesia played their hearts out today; you could see they wanted three points in this match.”

Thailand (in green) is currently the strongest contender for the championship.

I still believe Indonesia, with strikers Irfan and Boas, will be Nguyen Manh's opponent in the semi-finals, not the host nation Philippines or Singapore, led by coach Dooley. We think that Kiatisuk has already secured first place in Group A, and with his experience, Alfred Riedl will squeeze through the narrow gap to claim the remaining spot.

Vietnam's 2-1 victory over the inexperienced host nation Myanmar was predictable. I also don't think Coach Huu Thang needed a spectacular, emphatic win in the opening match. To win the AFF Cup, the team needs five matches; if they hit their stride in the first game, who knows what might happen? Except for Van Thanh, the other three defenders all need to improve their zonal marking, but that's not something to worry about too much.

What surprised everyone was that coach Kim Taehoon managed to ignite the passion in the young Cambodian players, who played with great confidence against Malaysia. In the 4-4-2 formation, midfielder Chan Vathanaka was the player that caught Huu Thang's attention the most. He had scored 8 goals, including a hat-trick against Binh Duong in the Mekong Cup, a feat that Trong Hoang, Cong Vinh, and Au Van Hoan surely still remember fondly.

Clearly, the names in the Malaysian squad such as Syazwan Zainon, Yahyah Amri, and the top scorer Safee Sali of the 2010 AFF Cup will draw Huu Thang's attention in the next match. Coach Kim Swee is certainly aware of the danger posed by Xuan Truong, and the central midfield duo of Rizal Ghazali and Syazwan Zainon will pay closer attention to this player from Tuyen Quang.

The Vietnamese team is considered the stronger side and has a better chance of advancing than their opponent, as a draw would open the door to qualification. Therefore, the coaching staff will undoubtedly have necessary strategies in place. However, I also believe that although Coach Huu Thang may face some difficulties in the opening match, Vietnam will win all three matches and top Group B. The Malaysian team will compete for the remaining qualifying spot against host nation Myanmar in a fiery, even violent, match.

According to FourFourTwo, unless something changes, Thailand will face Vietnam in the final. Thailand's top scorer in Southeast Asia, Teerasil Dangda, and veteran striker Cong Vinh will have the opportunity to face off. People are waiting to see what tactics Coach Huu Thang will employ, especially since Coach Kiatisuk has instructed central midfielders Pokklaw A-nan and Sarach Yooyen in a 4-2-3-1 formation to neutralize Xuan Truong's threat. The champion will be the team with unexpected backup plans, not the team that showed their best in the group stage. Therefore, while the Vietnamese team may not have shown much in their opening match, there's no need to worry too much!

An Thanh