AFF CUP 2022: Quang Hai returns and the concerns that follow.

Defending champions Thailand have therefore only held the regional throne for a full year and must embark on a difficult campaign to defend their top spot due to a serious shortage of players.

Previously, Thailand lost their title due to the absence of key players, especially Chanathip. Now, that situation is repeating itself. Will they know how to overcome this inherent weakness to add to their list of achievements, or will they continue to suffer defeats against Vietnam, and perhaps even… Indonesia?

Meanwhile, Indonesians continue to place their trust in South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong, who a year ago led the young Indonesian team to the final, but once again prolonged the heartbreak for fans by missing out on the championship six times in the final match. This time, the South Korean coach still shows determination, hoping that fans will come to the stadium to support the team and help them win. Like Thailand, Indonesian football currently has quite a few players playing abroad, not to mention the number of naturalized players, all to serve their big ambitions ahead. Naturally, most of them will not return for this occasion because the tournament is not part of the FIFA competition system.

Quang Hai was included in the starting lineup for the Vietnamese national team. (Photo: Nhu Dat)

In the region, it's easy to see that the Indonesian national pride is second to none, even to the point of extremism and fanaticism. Therefore, don't underestimate Indonesia's strength. Also, don't forget that the former head coach of the South Korean national team, now the head coach of the Indonesian national team, will have learned many lessons from the victories and defeats in the recent AFF Cup and SEA Games, and will be ready to adjust accordingly and anticipate every opponent's tactics.

With ambitions no less than the two aforementioned rivals, the Vietnamese national team, in this farewell tournament for "the wizard" Park Hang-seo, naturally boasts a different kind of success. Unlike their formidable opponents Thailand and Indonesia, their only star player currently playing abroad is...Quang HaiFinally, he was "released" to play in the 2022 AFF Cup. This is fortunate for Coach Park Hang-seo, but it's actually a cause for concern for the long-term future of Vietnamese football, as there are too few players honed in advanced football leagues. Consider how the Japanese national team performed on par with, or even better than, European and African opponents in the 2022 World Cup, especially against Germany and Spain. This clearly shows the crucial role of sending talented players abroad to play. The Japanese now have almost a full squad of players competing in top-tier leagues around the world. This is the most complete explanation for their quality youth training, the quality of the J-League, and above all, a football development strategy worth studying and learning from.

While top Asian football nations have caused a sensation at the World Cup, Vietnamese football and the entire region can only dream of qualifying for the biggest football event on the planet, and even that seems a distant dream unless the number of participating teams continues to expand. From scoring a goal, then securing a draw, to achieving a win is incredibly difficult; yet Asian football has seen teams win two matches in the World Cup group stage and advance to the next round through the main route.

But the current World Cup Round of 16 story is a "difficult peak to overcome," as everyone has seen recently, exemplified by the talented and ambitious Japanese team. Previously, South Korea reached the semi-finals (2002), but they couldn't repeat that remarkable achievement. In reality, Asian football is struggling immensely to "break through" and reach the quarter-finals, the eight strongest teams in the world.

The Vietnamese national team will gather in Hanoi from November 23rd. (Photo: Hai Hoang)

So, while regional teams are loudly proclaiming their ambition to win the AFF Cup, it's actually an insignificant achievement when considered on a continental scale. Of course, Thailand and Vietnam have reached the third round of World Cup qualifiers, meaning they are among the top teams in the continent, but they are still at the bottom of the table, and the gap between them and top teams like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Saudi Arabia remains quite large and difficult to bridge, let alone surpass.

Perhaps we should look at the example of Japan, and the fact that stars from Thailand, Indonesia, or Malaysia... did not attend.AFF Cup 2022Is the real concern for Vietnamese football, not just in the near future? With Quang Hai, Coach Park Hang-seo and the fans will breathe a little easier, but victory is not guaranteed, as this star player also played in the 2021 AFF Cup. Therefore, Vietnamese football must rely on youth training programs like Hanoi FC, Viettel, Song Lam Nghe An, PVF, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, NutiFood Academy, etc., to produce new generations of talented players capable of truly learning the ropes abroad to serve the long-term strategy in a feasible way.

Bui Hoa