Please don't be unfair to Phuong!
(Baonghean.vn) - Immediately after missing a penalty in the final match against Curacao, the striker born in 1995 received a lot of criticism from domestic football fans.
It is true that in the defeat of the Vietnamese team against the Caracao team after the penalty shootout, Cong Phuong had a part of the responsibility. However, saying that does not mean that the striker from Nghe An is a "sinner", the one who has to bear the wrath of a part of the Vietnamese fans. Because, Cong Phuong is more pitiful than blameworthy. Simply put, he tried his best, but luck did not smile on him. Looking at his gloomy face when standing on the podium to receive the medal, it is enough to understand how disappointed Cong Phuong was with that inaccurate 11m kick.
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| Cong Phuong was heavily criticized after missing a penalty in the final match against Curacao. Photo: zing.vn |
To be fair, the player wearing the number 10 shirt was one of the best players of the Vietnam National Team at the King's Cup 2019. In the match against the Thai National Team, Cong Phuong left special impressions with a shot that went close to the crossbar of Kawin's goal (minute 73), a dribble that was fouled by defender Pansa Hemviboon (minute 75) and a pass for Hung Dung to enter the opponent's penalty area, bringing a corner kick for Anh Duc to score the only goal... Remember, the 24-year-old striker was only on the field for about 25 minutes.
In the final match against Curacao, the former Incheon United striker also played aggressively and quite effectively in the attack of the Vietnam National Team. Many times, the player nicknamed "Vietnamese Messi" made the opponent's defense unstable with his fast and skillful dribbling. Even if his teammate Van Toan had been more accurate in his finishing move in the 30th minute, Cong Phuong would have had an assist. Even Curacao coach Remko Bicentini had to admit: "I am very impressed with the player wearing the number 10 shirt (Cong Phuong)".
Therefore, we cannot deny Cong Phuong's contributions to the Vietnam National Team at the King's Cup 2019 because of a missed penalty kick. In football, it is very normal for a player to miss a penalty kick, causing his team to lose the match. From the West to the East, from ancient times to the present, there are few players who have not failed at the penalty spot. Even famous players such as Roberto Baggio (Italy), David Beckham (England), Ronaldo (Portugal), Messi (Argentina) ... have failed to take extremely important 11m kicks.
Hopefully, Vietnamese football fans will be fairer to Cong Phuong, because after all, King's Cup 2019 is just a friendly tournament. In particular, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team have successfully completed the goal of defeating the Thai team to affirm their position as the number 1 team in Southeast Asian football.