Que Ngoc Hai honored by AFF; Van Thanh reveals coach Park's instructions

Que Ngoc Hai honored by AFF

On the evening of January 13, the Vietnamese and Thai teams drew 2-2 in the first leg of the AFF Cup 2022 final at My Dinh Stadium. After this match, Que Ngoc Hai was voted the Most Active Player.

The number 3 center back of the Vietnam team was active and moved widely. In particular, he had an unexpected move to bring the opening goal for the Vietnam team.

Ngoc Hai played with great determination. Photo: Truong Hieu

After a failed free kick, central defenders often have to retreat back to their own field. However, in that decisive phase, Ho Tan Tai retreated, while Ngoc Hai moved to the right wing, receiving the ball from Hoang Duc's pass. Ngoc Hai then crossed the ball accurately for Tien Linh to head in to open the score.

Meanwhile, the title of best player of the match belongs to Theerathon Bunmathan. The captain of the Thai team deserves to be honored as he is the owner of both assists. At the moment, Bunmathan leads the tournament in assists (6 times) and chances created (27 times). Bunmathan is a professional support and plays the role of spiritual leader. After the match with Vietnam, he gathered the team into a circle to give instructions and encouragement.

"We didn't give up and scored two away goals. It's a good result and we will be champions at home. We have to keep this spirit of not giving up," Bunmathan shared.

Van Thanh reveals coach Park's instructions

Vu Van Thanh entered the field in the 85th minute to replace Ho Tan Tai. After only 3 minutes on the field, he scored a beautiful goal against Thailand, thereby helping Vietnam draw 2-2 against their opponent. Thus, the Vietnamese team needs to win against Thailand or draw with a score of 3-3 or more in the second leg on the opponent's field to be sure of winning the AFF Cup 2022.

Speaking about the golden goal that helped Vietnam get a draw, defender Vu Van Thanh said: “I am very happy to have scored a goal for the Vietnam team. This is a valuable goal to motivate the whole team to fight in the second leg. I believe that the opportunity is divided equally between both teams. The team that takes advantage of the opportunity will be the champion.”

Van Thanh revealed the order of coach Park Hang-seo when he was put on the field: "The coach told us to attack a lot. The team needs a goal." He continued: "I think the whole team played well in all positions on the field. Unfortunately, because of a few moments of lack of concentration, the team conceded a goal."

Van Thanh and his teammates burst into joy with the equalizer at the end of the second half. Photo:Lam Thoa

Talking about Thailand, Van Thanh commented: "Thailand had a very reasonable strategy, causing difficulties for Vietnam in the second half. The whole team will have to try hard in the second leg of the final to bring victory to the Vietnamese people."

Commentator Quang Huy points out the reason why Vietnam team tied with Thailand

Commentator Vu Quang Huy said that Vu Van Thanh's goal in the 88th minute helped the Vietnamese team draw and opened up a lot of hope in the second leg.

“Looking at the match, we saw some individual mistakes. However, behind that, we still saw our lack of alertness. With the first half having such a result, we should have played steadily in the second half. The first 10 or 15 minutes of the second half are very important, but we didn’t play “properly”. Not necessarily properly, but we have to have a reasonable game plan,” said commentator Quang Huy.

According to this commentator, in the first 10 minutes of the second half, it was clear that Vietnam played inappropriately. The game and style of play were neither defensive nor offensive. And throughout the entire match, Vietnam still felt that they were the "upper hand" against the Thais. "In fact, with the Thai team, we are never allowed to play with the "upper hand" mentality. That means we can play confidently and confidently, but we don't have to play like "upper hands". The idea that we will win easily is also somewhat of an "upper hand". In such a fiery atmosphere at My Dinh, and after 6 matches without losing or conceding a goal, we are somewhat of an "upper hand". Moreover, Thailand lacked Chanathip Songkrasin, which made us play leisurely in a way that was not our strong point".

The scuffle between players of the two teams. Photo: Lam Thoa

"But remember, Mr. Park's philosophy of playing football to be successful cannot be playing with the "upper hand". Mr. Park is also not strong in playing football or imposing on the opponent. Mr. Park has never been good at imposing his style of play and wants to take the lead when he has scored, so we easily lost the game in the second half," he added.

Commentator Vu Quang Huy commented: “When the score was 2-2, we were not too adventurous. A typical example was the save by Dang Van Lam in a counterattack in the 5th minute of extra time. Even if it was a 2-2 draw, Thailand would still play offensively at home. And that was an opportunity for us to score.

In the second leg, the Vietnamese team needs to overcome the weaknesses in the first leg along with the breakthroughs created. Along with that, luck is needed to hope to win in the second leg. "With Mr. Park's playing style, I think that with a score of 2-2, the chance in the second leg of the final will be 60/40 in favor of the Thai team. With this score, I still think that the Thai team will not play a 0-0 draw to win the championship. I think the Thai team will still play offensively to score goals. And like that, there will be an opportunity for the Vietnamese team to counterattack according to their strengths. In my opinion, the chance is 60/40 for the second leg", commentator Vu Quang Huy gave his predictions for the championship chance of the Vietnamese team.