AFF Cup 2018: Who made the "Hanoi promise"?
(Baonghean.vn) - That was Malaysia's captain striker Mohamad Zaquan (8), the player who sat out for 90 minutes as his team lost 0-2 at My Dinh Stadium in the group stage. Unconvinced, after the match, he declared: "We will return to this place, to make an appointment with Hanoi". That was indeed true.
Quite surprisingly, in the match against host Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium, coach Tan Cheng Hoe unexpectedly left out two important players of the attack, Mohamad Zaqua (8) and Muhammad Safawi (11). If in the 58th minute, Safawi was also brought in to replace naturalized player Mohamadou Sumareh (13) as right winger, the Malaysian captain did not play a single minute.
Mohamad Zaqua, author of "Hanoi appointment"
The reason for saying it is surprising is because the twin brothers Aidil Zafuan and Zaquan Adha and Talaha (8), midfielders Safawi (11), Muhammad Akram (12), defender Syahmi bin Safari (4) and goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi are irreplaceable pillars. Malaysia's AFF Cup 2018 squad consists mostly of young players. However, the heroes of the 2010 championship, goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi and striker Talaha, are still present in this tournament.
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| Striker Talaha has scored 5 goals at AFF Cup 2018. Photo AFF |
Replacing captain Mohamad Zaquan at My Dinh Stadium was young player Shahrel Fikri (10), 24 years old, 1.8m tall. It seems that coach Tan Cheng Hoe initially intended to use the high ball from the wing for this striker to avoid putting too much of the team up to attack. The person who replaced this striker was veteran striker Ahmad Hazwan (20), 27 years old, 1.75m tall, who did not cause much trouble for Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates.
It is not difficult to judge that, if not injured or suspended, Mohamad Zaquan will definitely play as a striker with Norshahrul Idlan in both the first and second legs of the final. It is quite an interesting coincidence that Norshahrul Idlan scored the opening goal in Malaysia's campaign to win the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010, and he did the same thing 8 years later. Striker Talaha has scored 5 goals at the AFF Cup 2018. He was the one who made the tricky shot that brought Malaysia the 2-2 equalizer in the semi-finals, thereby successfully "overcoming" Rajamangala.
With the AFF Cup 2018 rules, Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar all have 1 away match and 1 home match. So losing 0-2 at My Dinh Stadium instead of Bukit Jalil Stadium makes it reasonable to not be "convinced". After the first leg at Bukit Jalil Stadium, more than anyone, captain Mohamad Zaquan, the author of the "Hanoi promise", really wants to score himself at My Dinh Stadium, to prove that Malaysia's 0-2 loss was just a "football accident". But certainly, Van Lam will not let that be easily achieved.
People who may miss appointments
The first leg of the final at Bukit Jalil National Stadium (Malaysia) is expected to be a ruthless battle. There are 5 names, 2 from the host Malaysia, Muhammad Akram (12) and Muhammad Safawi (11) and 3 from the visiting team Vietnam, Cong Phuong, Quang Hai, Duc Huy, who already have 1 yellow card. If they receive 1 more yellow card from the referee in this confrontation, they will be spectators in the second leg at My Dinh Stadium.
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| Captain Mohamad Zaquan (8) is the author of “Hanoi appointment”. Photo: AFF |
In our opinion, the two central midfielders Muhammad Akram (12) and Duc Huy have a high probability of getting another card. Playing in the central midfield position, forced to play fiercely, players only need to be careless to easily get a card. Even with an energetic playing style, winger Safawi can still "miss the appointment" because Vietnam's right winger is Trong Hoang, a player with good speed.
Meanwhile, to be able to lift the Gold Cup, Quang Hai, the best midfielder of the Vietnamese team, also needs to have a cool head in the “Bukit Jalil battle”. This is extremely difficult, because player number 19 will certainly be the “subject of special care” of the home team Malaysia.
When most of the positions on the field of the two teams, the attacking style and the defensive ability of both Malaysia and Vietnam have been fully revealed after the last 6 matches, the commanding ability of both Park Hang-seo and Tan Cheng Hoe is extremely important. Although he did not say it, coach Tan Cheng Hoe also wanted to "wash his face" when his Korean colleague used the "lure the tiger away from the mountain" strategy, directing his troops to attack and lose 0-2 on away land.