Analyzing the current form of the Vietnamese team

Especially the ability to launch attacks in a defensive-counterattacking formation, the high will of the whole team when the game is imposed or when the score is behind, the appearance of outstanding factors in matches as well as some specific situations.

However, these significant improvements still cannot fill the gap or class between Vietnamese football and the top opponents in the continent. Due to the loss in physique, physical strength and many other factors in terms of expertise and experience, the Vietnamese national team lost the balance between the lines and positions, making individual mistakes as well as the whole system at important moments. In addition, in the squadVietnam National TeamThere is no continental star who can help decide the match…

Football is a team sport, of course. But only stars have the ability to break the balance, create breakthroughs to turn the situation around. If we consider the regional playground, the Vietnam National Team is of course considered the number 1 team with many outstanding stars. But entering the 3rd qualifying round, even before that in the final match of the 2nd qualifying round against the UAE, the Vietnam National Team "stumbled" on teams of higher class, more experience and with more bright stars, making every effort of the stars more difficult and if mistakes occur, they are exploited and taken advantage of more thoroughly.

A ball fight between players of the Vietnam and Australia teams. Photo: Hai Hoang

In the match against UAE, the opponent continuously imposed a game plan that made the Vietnamese team's defense, despite retreating deep, unable to keep up with the home team's unexpected and varied combinations. As a result, two brilliant passes from the home team's midfielders immediately led to goals, when Hong Duy on the left wing made a positional error, then Trong Hoang on the right wing could not jump in front of the taller opponent, instead they were pressed down and jumped high to head the ball past goalkeeper Tan Truong...

In the match against Australia at My Dinh Stadium, the Vietnamese team seemed to have created a tight, tight game when they did not give the away team any chance to play the ball in the air to their advantage. But in a situation where Hong Duy rushed forward in the wrong position, while Van Duc did not support in time, the opponent passed a very tricky ball that Van Lam could not advance and could not retreat in time! A narrow loss, very regrettable in a game that was not too bad for the Vietnamese team.

In the matches against China and Oman, individual mistakes also caused the Vietnamese team to face numerous disadvantages and had to accept defeat. The most regrettable was the consecutive mistakes due to the lack of experience of the young central defender Thanh Binh when he could not stop player Wu Lei, a star playing in Europe. As for the mistakes of Tan Tai and Duy Manh with their unnecessary arm swings in the match against Oman, it is difficult to confirm whether this was a professional or ethical mistake or both. We only know that Tan Tai was a new player who started the first match, played explosively and effectively, accompanied by mistakes and mistakes that were made for the first time. It is only worth mentioning and regrettable that Duy Manh is a pillar, played reliably but made mistakes that led to the home team being penalized, which is not the first time!

The performance of the Vietnamese team in the first matches of the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup is commendable. Photo: Hai Hoang

Mentioning some of the above mentioned mistakes and personal errors has no higher purpose than to hope that each player must seriously look back on himself, constantly study, improve his professional skills, ethics on the field, compete professionally, accept difficulties to overcome, accept the rules of the game to improve every day, every match and every tournament. We must truly understand the saying "every time we stumble, we become less foolish" as everyone has long understood and accepted.

After matches that were considered unlucky and led to defeat, some players expressed their personal opinions on social networks or the media, expressing their frustration and dissatisfaction with the referee or VAR, which ultimately "does more harm than good". Because it seems that there is still blame, not admitting mistakes, not knowing how to overcome circumstances, not knowing how to accept "a part of football" - these are the never-ending scandals like this for a long time.

And when stepping into the continental arena, it is best to respond with actions, with concrete results on the field. Remember, in the regional arena during the 18th SEA Games, goalkeeper Tien Dung once said, "My teammates will correct me if I make a mistake!". But ironically, in the continental arena now, if you make a mistake, even for a split second, no teammate will be able to correct it, other than accepting a loss, even a loss and more. That is where class lies! Traveling all day to learn a lot of wisdom is also where it lies!

Phu Chau