Is Vietnam team strong enough to reach out to the ocean?

However, the next leg will be extremely difficult when the opponents are the top teams in the continent, which are classy teams like UAE.Vietnam teamjust gone through (minute 50 was down 0-3 and in the last 10 minutes of the match rose up to equalize 2-3).

Reasons for losing the top spot in Group G

Harsh weather conditions, unfamiliarity with the field, referee favoritism towards the home team, and lack of direct instruction from the head coach... could be the specific reasons mentioned in the loss, losing the top spot in Group G of the Vietnam national team.

But almost everyone has to admit that the current UAE team is a classy team, far different from the team that played at My Dinh Stadium in the first leg (lost 0-1). What the Vietnam national team has achieved and done in the past time is not enough, not enough, even much work needs to be redone and renewed when all opponents are racing non-stop.

The situation where Minh Vuong scored against UAE in the 90+3 minute

It is true that the naturalized player from the UAE has "upgraded" the quality of this West Asian team, but through the above match, the "domestic players" of the opposing team are also very formidable.

Ali Hassan sneaked behind the Vietnamese defenders and scored the opening goal in the 32nd minute, a specific example. The UAE team continuously attacked on the left wing, the area where star Ali Mabkhoot operated, but suddenly passed the ball very cleverly to the open space on the right wing and defeated all efforts of the Vietnamese team to stick together and defend tenaciously in the previous 30 minutes.

Then came another delicate low ball through the gap between the defenders on the left wing for the striker to use his speed to run down, forcing goalkeeper Tan Truong to commit a foul and receive a penalty (minute 40). The third goal was a perfect counter-attack, ending with a close-range header from another domestic player, Mahmoud Khamis (minute 50).

UAE players celebrate the opening goal. Photo: Vnexpress.net

In all 3 of those goals, first of all, the Vietnamese team had to endure continuous, relentless pressure from the home team and the weakness from the midfield area was the main reason. It is very difficult for the midfield to "carry" when they all come from the background of midfielders with a tendency to organize and attack.

Xuan Truong has never been considered a true defensive midfielder, Hoang Duc is also rarely trusted in the blocking position. Van Duc is more willing to defend but people still expect this player to rush forward. Quang Hai is no stranger to the central midfielder position, but in the transitional role rather than the one who contributes to creating the second defensive layer.

Vietnamese players celebrate Tien Linh's goal.

That explains why at the beginning of the second half, Xuan Truong and Van Duc were replaced and the true defensive midfielder Duc Huy (although his recent form has not been really good) was replaced. Not to mention when a midfielder with great physical strength and will like Minh Vuong was on the field, the situation of the Vietnam national team became different compared to the beginning of the match.

The difficult first half of the Vietnam national team certainly made everyone miss the excellent midfielder Hung Dung and hope that this player will return soon. The improvement of the Vietnam national team in the second half made many people wonder if Minh Vuong had been present from the beginning or earlier in Mr. Park's plan against the UAE team?

The problem of Vietnam national team players' performance

After the final 3 decisive matches of the Group G qualifying round, the Vietnam national team has successfully completed the 2 matches against Indonesia and Malaysia, but in the final match against UAE, everything had to "return to earth" when clearly revealing the shortcomings from the calculations of the coaching staff and the actual performance of the players.

Cong Phuong entered the field and created a breakthrough situation in the beginning of the second half. Photo: vnexpress.net

His absolute trustPark Hang-seoFor some key players, it does not always bring positive results, such as the case of Xuan Truong and Van Duc in the match against Malaysia and UAE. Moreover, the stars Quang Hai and Cong Phuong do not always shine, while their teammates have not had time to "speak up", which is a big difficulty for the Vietnam National Team, especially when facing "tough" opponents.

The third qualifying round has many difficult matches, so the Vietnam national team will definitely have to consider adding more players, most importantly the midfield. If Hung Dung cannot return, Mr. Park Hang-seo will continue to have a "difficult headache" when players like Minh Vuong, Ly Cong Hoang Anh, Van Trien... are not really trusted. Van Duc, Van Toan... are "loved" and trusted so much but the response is still too little. Mr. Park Hang-seo always has an excellent Tien Linh, but the satellites around this spearhead are still uncertain and vague answers?

Currently, the fans are happy, the team is happy even though everything is not perfect. The Vietnam National Team has reached a new horizon with extraordinary efforts. But ahead, another horizon is calling. To reach the big ocean, the team needs to add many things!

Chau Phu