Vietnam team vs Iraq: Confidently entering the match, determined to get points

Keep up the momentum

In 2018, the Vietnamese team under the leadership of coach Park created an earthquake with a series of extremely impressive achievements at the U23 Asian tournament, Asiad and culminated in the AFF Suzuki Cup championship.

The remarkable progress of Vietnamese players at all levels has made experts and international media have a very positive view of the Korean strategist's team. Up to now, our team has an 18-match unbeaten streak.

The Vietnamese team had a friendly match against the Philippines team with a very convincing victory before the 2019 Asian Cup. Photo: VFF

Not only competing successfully in the arenas and achieving very satisfactory results from Trieu Chau to My Dinh. Our team owns a squad of very high-quality players and is considered the "golden generation" 2.0 and a veteran strategist from the land of Kim Chi.

In more than 2 years of taking the helm of the ship that was "sinking" in the post-coach Nguyen Huu Thang era, the Korean strategist has helped Vietnamese players show remarkable progress.

He chose a playing style that suited the physical condition and level of the players, thereby maximizing the best qualities that players like Quang Hai, Dinh Trong, Ngoc Hai, Duy Manh, Van Duc, Trong Hoang, Cong Phuong... possess.

Under Coach Park, in addition to the midfielders controlling the midfield well and the attacking line playing explosively, the players playing in the defense are a solid support with excellence from the goalkeeper position to the central defenders. For that reason, unnecessary mistakes in front of the home team's goal under the Korean strategist rarely appear.

In addition to his professional contributions, his ability to read the game, and his ability to make reasonable substitutions, Coach Park is also a true psychologist. He always creates laughter on the training ground and in the locker room. He even understands the personalities of each player. Therefore, the players are very comfortable mentally and can show off all their best qualities on the field.

To prepare for the 2019 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese team had two international friendly matches against North Korea and the Philippines with convincing victories. This is considered the perfect warm-up for Park Hang-seo and his team before entering the biggest tournament in the continent.

Fate from West Asian rivals

Coincidentally, over the past decade, every time we met teams from West Asia, our team always had very surprising victories. Specific evidence: In the 2008 Beijing Olympic qualifying campaign, the Vietnam Olympic team under the leadership of coach Alfred Riedl and assistant coach Mai Duc Chung excellently defeated the Afghanistan Olympic team and the Lebanon Olympic team with convincing attacking play to enter the third qualifying round and stopped before the Japanese team.

Vietnam national football team is full of confidence in the opening match of Asian Cup 2019 against Iraq. Photo: AFC

Not long after that, at the Asian Cup (2007) hosted by 4 Southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, the Vietnamese team won a ticket to the quarter-finals thanks to 4 points gained after the victory over the United Arab Emirates and the historic draw against the Qatar team at My Dinh Stadium.

At the 2010 Asian Games, the Vietnam Olympic team under the guidance of coach Phan Thanh Hung defeated the Bahrain Olympic team to enter the knockout round. Four years later, it was the turn of the Vietnam Olympic team under coach Toshiya Miura to defeat both the Iran Olympic team and the Kyrgyzstan Olympic team to enter the round of 16.

Most notably, at the U23 Asian tournament held in Changzhou, China in early 2018, U23 Vietnam under the guidance of coach Park Hang-seo achieved incredible feats against Syria, Iraq and Qatar to reach the final of a continental tournament for the first time. Notably, our red-shirted boys defeated U23 Iraq on 11-meter penalty kicks after an emotional 3-3 draw.

It can be said that Vietnamese football is really lucky with West Asian opponents, and if viewed from a professional perspective, this luck is completely justified. West Asian opponents are often superior in terms of physique, physical strength and technique, but in terms of player arrangement and game organization, they are not as disciplined as Japan, Korea or Uzbekistan. West Asian teams often do not press fiercely, block gaps or predict tactics, but often defend in a liberal manner, leaving more space for opponents.

Meeting teams from West Asia will help coach Park Hang-seo promote his defensive and counter-attacking style of play, helping our Vietnamese team create dreamlike achievements at all levels in 2018.

Therefore, in the opening match against a strong opponent from West Asia like Iraq, the home fans have the right to hope that the Korean strategist's team will confidently enter the match and bring home the first point for the home team.

Van Cao