Highlights of the Australia - Vietnam match

1. A host of "new talents" are given opportunities.

The starting lineup of the Vietnamese national team features many "new faces". Photo: Getty

During the away match of the Australian team,Coach Park Hang-seoCoach Park Hang-seo fielded a number of "new players." In defense were Le Van Xuan and Pham Xuan Manh, while in attack was Pham Tuan Hai. The presence of players who had been underutilized recently meant that the Vietnamese team's performance in the first half was not entirely satisfactory. Evidence of this was the much more impressive performance in the second half, thanks to Coach Park's substitutions.

2. Tan Truong continues to be a key player for Coach Park.

Tan Truong made many excellent saves for the Vietnamese national team. Photo: Ngoc Linh

Despite his impressive performances at the 2020 AFF Cup, Nguyen Manh was not selected by coach Park Hang-seo for the recent match. Instead, Tan Truong was chosen. Perhaps the reason the 1986-born goalkeeper was selected by the coach is his height of 1.88m. Overall, in the match against the Australian team, Tan Truong only played a decent role. Fairly speaking, none of the four goals conceded by the Vietnamese team were directly due to the mistakes of the goalkeeper from Dong Thap.

3. Hung Dung's highly anticipated comeback.

Hung Dung's (number 8) return after nearly a year of recovering from injury. Photo: Getty

The midfielder, currently on loan from Hanoi FC, was fielded in the starting lineup by coach Park Hang-seo, wearing the captain's armband, after a long period of injury recovery. Despite his best efforts, Hung Dung couldn't help the Vietnamese national team secure a result against Australia. Nevertheless, witnessing his graceful runs and powerful ball challenges, Vietnamese fans were filled with joy.

4. The "transformation" of the Vietnamese team in the second half.

Cong Phuong played well in the away match against Australia. Photo: Getty

It seemed that being 2 goals down in the first half would cause Coach Park Hang-seo's players to collapse for the remainder of the match. Surprisingly, with the appearances of Thanh Chung, Hoang Duc, and Cong Phuong, the Vietnamese team created many dangerous situations towards the opponent's goal. If Cong Phuong and his teammates had been more accurate with their shots, Coach Park Hang-seo's team would have left the AAMI stadium with at least one goal.

5. VAR was fair to Coach Park Hang-seo and his team.

The Australian players proved too strong for the Vietnamese team. Photo: Getty

In the very first minute of the match, the Australian players put the ball into goalkeeper Tan Truong's net. However, the goal was disallowed due to offside. This was a correct decision by the VAR referee team, helping to prevent the Vietnamese team from conceding a goal too early. Unfortunately, against the superior strength of the Australian team, Coach Park Hang-seo's players suffered a 0-4 defeat and remain languishing at the bottom of the standings.

According to the schedule, on February 1st, the first day of the Lunar New Year (Year of the Tiger), the Vietnamese national team will host the Chinese national team at My Dinh Stadium, in the eighth match of Group B of the final qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup in the Asian region.

Thanh Hung