Comments on SLNA - Viettel match: 'Fire tests gold'
(Baonghean.vn) - After 4 winless matches, Song Lam Nghe An's next challenge is Viettel Club - a team in high form with a squad of quality domestic and foreign players. Although they are rated lower, playing at home will be a great advantage for Coach Ngo Quang Truong's students.
According to the V.League 2020 rankings, Viettel Club is ranked third with 15 points, while the home team SLNA is ranked 9th with 12 points. In terms of strength and form, the away team Viettel is considered to be the better team.
The team led by coach Truong Viet Hoang is considered a miniature "National Team" with top Vietnamese football players such as Trong Hoang, Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Manh, Khac Ngoc, Hoang Duc, Duc Chien, Minh Tuan, Trong Dai...
Viettel Club's foreign players are also considered to be of good quality. The The Cong's successor team has Venancio Caique - who has 3 goals after 9 appearances, and Bruno Catanhede with 4 goals.
Bruno was the “Top scorer” of last season, even though he only played from the second leg. The achievements of this Brazilian pair alone are more than the total goals scored by SLNA. Those statistics also show the difference in class between the two teams.
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| Viettel Club owns many quality stars playing for the national team. Photo: Duc Anh |
With SLNA, only scoring 6 goals and conceding 9 goals in the last 4 matches, Viettel Club is a huge challenge for coach Ngo Quang Truong's students. In total, coach Truong Viet Hoang's students have scored 16 goals, in addition to the two foreign players, domestic players such as Minh Tuan, Khac Ngoc, Hoang Duc, Van Phong have all scored 2 goals, Van Hao has 1 goal.
The Nghe An team is currently heavily dependent on the playing style of Phan Van Duc and Ho Tuan Tai - domestic strikers who have scored 2 goals, but their striker pair Peter Samuel and Alagie Sosseh have yet to score a single goal. Not only that, when SLNA's defense continues to be without two key players Dinh Dong and Van Khanh in this match, it will be very difficult to stand firm against a team with 7 players taking turns scoring goals like Viettel.
In the past, the two teams have only met twice in V.League 2019, although SLNA had favorable results (1 draw, 1 win), this time everything has reversed. Viettel Club is no longer considered a rookie but is actually a candidate for the championship. In addition, the difficulties are compounded for SLNA when in this match, coach Ngo Quang Truong will continue to be absent due to family matters, assistant Nguyen Huy Hoang will be the one to replace the SLNA captain to direct the match.
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| SLNA is relying on Phan Van Duc's ability to make a difference. Photo: Duc Anh |
Because they know their opponents and themselves, SLNA only focused on defense in the first half to avoid conceding goals and never scored a goal in the first half. Meanwhile, Viettel Club can score at almost any time during the match, from the beginning, middle, to the end.
For Nghe An players who are playing for Viettel Club, this is the first time returning to their hometown team such as Khac Ngoc, Nguyen Manh. They are the ones who have the love and affection of SLNA fans. Surely it will be a very special feeling for the players as well as the fans of Nghe An.
Although rated higher, SLNA still has a chance. Although there are 4 matches with only draws and losses, SLNA still shows positive signs. 7 young players of SLNA have been tested on the field, striker Ho Tuan Tai has scored 2 consecutive matches to relieve his psychological stress.
Youth, the desire to assert themselves with the mindset of having nothing left to lose is considered a very powerful weapon of the young players of SLNA. The match between SLNA and Viettel will take place at 5:00 p.m. on July 18 at Vinh Stadium.
EXPECTED LINE-UP:
SLNA:TM Van Hoang, Sy Hoang, Gustavo Santos, Ba Sang, Sy Nam, Tuan Tai, Dinh Chau, Quang Tinh, Van Duc, Peter Samuel, Alagie Sosseh.
Viettel:Nguyen Manh, Ngoc Hai, Tien Dung, Van Thiet, Duy Thuong, Trong Hoang, Van Tram, Khac Ngoc, Hoang Duc, Caique, Bruno.
PREDICTION: 1-2
Phan Van Duc and SLNA players tease Ngoc Hai and Nguyen Manh on Vinh stadium
(Baonghean.vn) - The training session at Vinh Stadium before the match between Song Lam Nghe An and Viettel in round 10 of V.League 2020 witnessed the reunion of former teammates at SLNA of goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh, Trong Hoang, Khac Ngoc and Ngoc Hai.