AFF Cup 2018: Is Cong Phuong suitable for the official squad or the bench?
One of the most famous players in Vietnamese football, Cong Phuong, will certainly have a place to participate in the AFF Cup 2018. However, whether the HA Gia Lai player will be able to play in the starting lineup in the upcoming tournament or not is still a big question mark?
In the recent Asian Games, Cong Phuong was more suited to the role of a reserve than a starter. The HA Gia Lai player came off the bench but was the one who scored the decisive goal to help the Vietnamese Olympic team defeat Bahrain in the round of 16.
On the contrary, when he started in the group stage matches, Cong Phuong often disappointed. Even when this player scored 1 goal in the victory of Vietnam Olympic team against Pakistan, people still remembered more about Cong Phuong's 2 missed penalty kicks in the same match, not that goal.
It's not that Cong Phuong is less talented or no longer holds an important position for the Vietnamese team, it's just that it seems that Cong Phuong's qualities and strengths are more suitable for coming off the bench, rather than appearing right from the start in the official lineup.
Cong Phuong plays skillfully, is good at breaking through, and has a high starting speed. However, if he plays from the start, his speed and technique often cannot do anything to experienced and capable defenders at the national team level, because at that time, the defenders still have enough physical strength to stick with and predict Cong Phuong's ball handling.
On the contrary, when appearing from the bench, when the physical strength of the opposing defenses has been worn down, Cong Phuong often maximizes his speed. At the same time, Cong Phuong's breakthroughs often cause chaos for the opposing defenses, because they are no longer alert enough in their judgment when their physical strength has decreased.
When playing officially, the HA Gia Lai striker sometimes becomes an extra person on the field, even some of his losing the ball in trying to dribble often becomes an opportunity for the opponent to counterattack. In this aspect, Van Quyet is rated higher. The Hanoi Club player is stable in that he not only plays more for his teammates, but also rarely loses the ball, creating conditions for the opponent to counterattack.
Cong Phuong sitting on the bench does not mean that the player wearing the shirt of the mountain town team will not contribute to the Vietnam team. If Cong Phuong starts the match from the bench and creates better changes for the team, then that is also an option that should be carefully calculated.
Moreover, as former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh analyzed, playing officially or sitting on the bench is only different in the starting time of each player's match, but it does not mean that the player who has to come on from the bench is not an important player to his team.
Many times, the person coming off the bench is the key to the game for the coaches, and Cong Phuong is very suitable for this role!