AFF Cup 2018: Phoenix - Hoang "spread wings"?

In the last 5 times at the U19, U23 and national team levels with the presence of Cong Phuong, we have all won against Malaysia. Meanwhile, in the AFF Cup 2016, Trong Hoang was the one who scored in the 1-0 win over Malaysia and is currently the player with the most goals for the Vietnamese team who is still playing.

smokescreen

There seems to be a unified scenario, the Malaysian media, coach Tan Cheng Hoe and his students all find all kinds of words to praise the Vietnamese team somewhat excessively. The Malaysian press believes that Vietnam has surpassed Thailand, the number 1 candidate of this AFF Cup. The stars Cong Phuong, Quang Hai, Van Quyet are capable of penetrating all defenses in the Southeast Asian region.

Malaysia's captain Zaquan Adha has praised coach Park Hang-seo and his team to the skies. Photo: Trung Kien

In an interview with the press, Malaysia captain Zaquan Adha praised coach Park Hang-seo and his team to the skies. "I'm really looking forward to the match against Vietnam in Hanoi. They are one of the strongest teams in Asia," Adha said before traveling to Vietnam with the Malaysian team. Coach Tan Cheng Hoe also stated that Malaysia only needs 1 point against Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium to be happy.

Coach Park Hang Seo said that his colleague Tan Cheng Hoe from Malaysia intentionally created confusion when he announced a draw.He mentioned that the Vietnamese team that suffered the pain of a 2-4 defeat at My Dinh 4 years ago currently includes Van Quyet, Anh Duc and Que Ngoc Hai. This is the right time for them and their teammates to reclaim the old debt, affirming the class of Vietnamese football.

Waiting for the "youngster"

Since the 2013 U19 Asian Cup and the recent friendly match at Thong Nhat Stadium on February 7, 2017 between U23 Vietnam and U23 Malaysia, Nghe An-born player Cong Phuong has had 5 matches against this fateful opponent.

In these 5 matches, Cong Phuong scored a total of 4 goals, made 2 assists and brought back 2 penalties. Thus, in the current team, Cong Phuong is the Vietnamese player who has faced Malaysian players the most recently.

Two years ago at the AFF Cup 2016, Cong Phuong was brought onto the field in the 63rd minute and Vietnam beat Malaysia 1-0 thanks to a goal by Trong Hoang.

Cong Phuong is a "rookie" when facing Malaysia. Photo: Trung Kien

Phuong's dribbling and close-range ball handling style always causes difficulties for Malaysian players who are only strong in physical strength and fierce in disputes. In the context of the main referee, Mr. Turki Mohammed A. Alkhudayr from Saudi Arabia, who is famous for being strict, it is completely possible that Cong Phuong will get free kicks when facing young center-back S.Saad (3).

Most likely, coach Park Hang Seo will assign Cong Phuong to "volunteer" for this central defender to follow instead of "veteran" Aidil Zafuan (7), 31 years old, who is considered to have more experience.

Meanwhile, Trong Hoang is a player with 8 years of experience in the national team, among the players with the most experience in the current team. The 29-year-old player has played for FLC Thanh Hoa 35 times (only behind Van Quyet 37 times) in official matches with 10 goals, the most recent being against Malaysia.

If naturalized player Mohamadou Sumareh (13) is injured and cannot play, coach Tan Cheng Hoe will likely push Safawi (11) to the right wing. This will reduce Trong Hoang's defensive duties and increase his chances of scoring.

In fact, the team's hope is not only in Phuong and Hoang, but we also have Quang Hai, Van Quyet and other players who can both create and score goals. It is no coincidence that coach Tan Cheng Hoe mentioned them in the technical press conference before the match.

Certainly, central midfielder Akram (12) and central defender Aidil Zafuan (7) will pay much attention to Quang Hai and Van Quyet. Most likely, the two players of the capital team will have the task of attracting the opponent's defense for their teammates to score.

My Dinh support

In addition to having a team of qualified players, a thirst for victory, a Korean coach who has proven his professional ability, we also have the "golden players" Phuong, Hoang and the "golden string" of 3 years without losing at My Dinh Stadium.

Vietnam national football team has never lost at My Dinh Stadium in the past 3 years. Photo: VFF

The most recent defeat at My Dinh Stadium took place on October 13, 2015, in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, when we lost 0-3 to Thailand. This was also the last match coach Toshiya Miura led the Vietnamese team.

Since then, Vietnam has played a total of 8 matches at My Dinh Stadium, including 1 match in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, 3 friendly matches, 1 match in the 2014 AFF Cup semi-finals, and 3 matches in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers. In these 8 matches, Vietnam is undefeated with 4 wins and 4 draws.

An Thanh