Coach Park shocked Vietnamese fans in Dubai; Tien Linh was rated highest by AFC

"Coach Park shocked me.Seeing the teacher pointing, I was scared, thinking he was kicking us out. Unexpectedly, he let the two children in to play. I'm so happy," said Ho Thi Cuu, Khanh Chi's mother.

Coach Park plays with Khanh Chi and Bryan at Police Stadium in Dubai on May 28. Photo: Lam Thoa

Ms. Cuu is from Nghe An and has lived and worked in Dubai for 20 years. She has always followed the Vietnamese team in tournaments. When she heard that Coach Park Hang-seo and his team were coming to Dubai, she and her family decided to go to the stadium to watch the team.

"This is the first time I met coach Park Hang-seo. He was so friendly that I was surprised. This is an unforgettable memory for us. I will come back to watch the team practice in the next few days," Ms. Cuu added. Ms. Cuu and hundreds of Vietnamese people living in the UAE wanted to go to the field to cheer for the Vietnamese team. However, they could not do so because the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decided to organize matches in empty stadiums due to Covid-19.

Vietnam tops Group G with 11 points, and will face Indonesia on June 7, Malaysia on June 11, and the host team on June 15. The team needs to win 2 of the 3 matches above to secure a ticket to the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup - something unprecedented in Vietnamese football history.

Tien Linh is highly appreciated by AFC

The article reads: "If Vietnam tops the group and enters the final qualifying round, they will certainly consider Nguyen Tien Linh's only goal in the match against UAE at My Dinh as the most important moment. Since veteran Nguyen Anh Duc was dropped from the list by coach Park Hang-seo, Vietnam will rely on Tien Linh - a player in high form with 6 goals in 11 matches for Binh Duong in the V-League."

Tien Linh scored the only goal to help Vietnam beat UAE 1-0 at My Dinh Stadium, in the fourth round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers on November 14. Receiving the ball from Do Hung Dung's through-line pass, Tien Linh shot from about 25 meters away, in the 44th minute. The ball went hard, high and curved, making it impossible for the UAE goalkeeper to touch it. At that time, Vietnam was playing with one more player, because Al Hammadi received a direct red card for pulling Tien Linh down.

That was Tien Linh's fourth goal for the Vietnamese team, when he was only 22 years old. He also appeared in 4 of the last 5 matches in the World Cup qualifiers, except for the match against Malaysia at My Dinh.

Tien Linh has achieved a performance of 1 goal every 151 minutes for the Vietnam team under coach Park. Photo: Duc Dong

The AFC also pointed out that the pillars of the UAE, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are striker Ali Mabkhout, left-back Sasalak Haiprakhon, winger Safawi Rasid and striker Beto Goncalves respectively. However, the AFC made a mistake when Beto was not named in Indonesia's squad for the remaining three matches in the World Cup qualifiers. Instead, coach Shin Tae-yong called up naturalized striker of Montenegrin origin - Ilija Spasojevic.

Thai coach compares his students to Xavi and Iniesta

"Thanawat comes from the Premier League club," Nishino said at a press conference on the afternoon of May 28. "I watched Thanawat and saw that he played well. He is also friendly and tries to integrate with his new teammates in the Thai national team. I want him to understand his teammates better and contribute on the field. Thanawat plays central midfield with good basic techniques. I feel that he plays football like Iniesta and Xavi. I feel more hopeful when Thanawat is called up to the national team."

Thanawat is on the payroll of Leicester City and has not played a single match for the national team. Photo: FAT

Thanawat is the only Thai player currently playing in Europe, for Leicester City. The 21-year-old midfielder has yet to play for Leicester's first team, but has been a substitute twice in the 2020-2021 Premier League. He mainly plays for Leicester's reserve team - a club owned by Thai people.

Hien Tung