Asian Cup 2019: Southeast Asia's "Three Horses" Compete
(Baonghean.vn) - Since the 2007 Asian Cup, when 4 Southeast Asian countries co-hosted, this is the first time that the region has had 3 representatives present at an Asian Cup. The "unofficial" race between the Thai and Vietnamese teams in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is therefore equally attractive.
The AFF Cup 2018 is not part of the official FIFA competition system, so the teams cannot gather their best players. So to some extent, it does not reflect the full strength of the teams, the Asian Cup is a completely different playground in terms of scale.
"War elephant" has a bright chance
Coach Milovan Rajevac once promised that Thailand would show a very different face compared to what they did at the AFF Cup 2018. When Chanathip Songkrasin, Teerasil Dangda, Theerathon Bunmathan and goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan reappeared.
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| Coach Milovan Rajevac: "Thailand will show a very different face compared to what they did at the AFF Cup 2018". Photo: Internet |
In the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup double qualifying round, Thailand was also the only team in Southeast Asia to pass the second qualifying round, thanks to which they owned one of the 12 tickets to the final round. Coach Milovan Rajevac and his team were in a relatively easy group A including host UAE, India and Bahrain.
With the level and advantage of hosting, the top spot in the group is certainly difficult to escape from the hands of the host. However, the second place in the group or the 4 best third-placed teams with Thailand are completely within reach. The mettle of the Thai people shows that the failure at the AFF Cup 2018 does not affect their long-term goals much.
Play the role of "unknown"
The Azkals are making it to the Asian finals for the first time in their history. With time to prepare and a squad of players from the Filipino-born talent in Europe, coach Sven-Göran Eriksson will have the chance to show off his skills. Of course, goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who plays for Cardiff City in the English Premier League, is the leader.
The Philippines is in Group C with the current runner-up South Korea, China and Kyrgyzstan. The Azkals' chances of advancing are considered "unknown" and they are competing with Kyrgyzstan for the 3rd ticket of the group to wait for luck when competing with the other 5 groups.
The physical and fitness advantages of the Philippine players only work in Southeast Asia, while in the continental arena, Korea, China and Kyrgyzstan, who are playing "athletic football", will find it difficult for "The Azkals" to win.
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| Vietnam seems to be aiming for two big goals for the U23 generation: the 2020 U23 Asian Qualifiers and the 30th SEA Games rather than the 2019 Asian Cup. Photo: Trung Kien |
Coach Sven-Göran Eriksson was relatively successful when he arrived just 13 days before the AFF Cup 2018 opened and managed to bring the Philippines to 3rd place in the tournament. But with the Asian Cup 2019, just getting the Philippines out of the group stage is considered a miracle for the country's football.
The Southeast Asian champion is a team that has not had many personnel changes because no players have gone to compete abroad like Thailand or the Philippines. This time, Coach Park Hang-seo is "alone against the Middle East", that is the challenge called Asian Cup 2019.
This is the arena for them to assert their strength, and also to verify the quality of the gold medal when in the same group D are Iran, Iraq and Yemen, all very strong. In which Iran and Iraq are candidates for the 2019 Asian Cup championship.
In the match schedule, we will meet Iraq, Iran and Yemen, who are considered to have a "third chance of finishing in the group" when facing Yemen last. At the U23 Asian Cup held in early 2018, the Vietnamese team eliminated U23 Iraq in the quarterfinals. This means that if we use reasonable tactics and play in the right positions, the Vietnamese team can still share points with the West Asian team.
With coach Park Hang-seo not calling up Anh Duc and Van Quyet to go to the UAE, Vietnamese football seems to be aiming for two major goals for the U23 generation: the 2020 U23 Asian Qualifiers and the 30th SEA Games rather than the 2019 Asian Cup.
In the excitement of winning the AFF Cup 2018, Mr. Park is still sober, "knowing himself and knowing his opponent" in the continental playground.
Player Trong Hoang shares about special mission at AFF Cup 2018
(Baonghean.vn) - National player Trong Hoang made a strong impression in his unfamiliar position, right-back, at the recent AFF Cup 2018. After winning the championship, the Nghe An player shared his thoughts about the tournament and the tasks assigned by coach Park Hang-seo.
Watch Van Duc's goal win the award for Best Goal of AFF Cup 2018
(Baonghean.vn) - After more than a day of voting, the electronic voting portal for the Best Goal of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 on the tournament's homepage has closed. The final result was midfielder Phan Van Duc's superb turn and kick in Vietnam's 3-0 victory over Cambodia in the group stage, winning first place with 15,166 votes, accounting for 73.93% of the votes.