Que Ngoc Hai meets 'old friend' Maya Yoshida

If center back Maya Yoshida has 124 appearances for the Japanese national team, thenQue Ngoc Haionly 48 times. Simply put, the 33-year-old captain has been on the team for 11 years, while center-back Que Ngoc Hai is only 28 years old, having only joined the Vietnam team since 2014. But they have one thing in common, both Maya Yoshida and Que Ngoc Hai are players trusted by the team's coaches.

Old acquaintance

Que Ngoc Hai will meet Yoshida again. Photo: AT

On January 24, 2019, in Dubai (UAE), they met in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, when Japan eliminated Vietnam thanks to the only goal of Ritsu Doan. The central defender trio Ngoc Hai, Tien Dung, Duy Manh played very well but still let the opposing team's right midfielder score a goal from the penalty spot. Previously, also in this tournament in 2007, Japan crushed host Vietnam 4-1 in the match at My Dinh, then both sides held hands and entered the quarter-finals.

The 33-year-old veteran, who plays for Serie A club Sampdoria, is the spiritual leader of the Japanese national team. Maya Yoshida is the most successful Japanese player in Europe, having joined VVV-Venlo, a Dutch football team, in the 2009 season. He then played for Southampton for seven and a half years (from 2012), before moving to Sampdoria on loan.

With a height of 1.89m and an intelligent playing style, Yoshida adapted very quickly to the English pitch. I still clearly remember the image of Yoshida "attacking left and right" in the role of Southampton's central defender in the English League Cup match of the 2016-2017 season. At that time, MU had famous names such as Ibrahimovic, Mata, Martial, goalkeeper De Gea under the guidance of the famous J.Mourinho. Having conceded two goals before, they persistently scored and only let the "veteran" Swedish Ibrahimovic score a double to raise the score to 3-2 in the last minute of the match, helping the home team "Red Devils" win the championship.

Before that, Yoshida was the one who helped Southampton stand firm and win the quarter-finals against Arsenal with a score of 2-0, in the semi-finals continued to eliminate Liverpool with a score of 1-0 in both matches. The fact that he has faced famous English football players shows the class of this Japanese team captain.

Air superiority

With a height of 1.89m, Yoshida will threaten the Vietnamese team's goal in aerial battles. Photo: Sky

12 years of fighting on European football fields has helped the captain of the Japanese national team improve his professional level. Playing as a central defender, he has also scored 19 goals at the club level, mainly with his head. This season, he has also scored 2 goals for Sampdoria after 8 appearances. At the national team level, although playing as a defender, Yoshida has scored 12 goals, which makes Japanese fans hope that he will defeat Que Ngoc Hai to score against Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium.

What Japanese fans hope for is well-founded because with a height of 1.89m, Yoshida will have more advantages than Que Ngoc Hai in aerial battles. Even Ibrahimovic, a very good header, will have difficulty facing this player number 22. With 11 years of playing for the Japanese national team, this central defender is a senior player in both life and expertise of the Phu Tang team. Whether playing in a 3 or 4-defender formation, he is still the number 1 choice in the defense of coach Moriyasu Hajime. This veteran Yoshida reads the game very well and often proactively intercepts the ball before letting the opponent approach. Not many Asian teams choose to play in the air when this captain is present.

In other words, captain Yoshida will be the one to prevent coach Park Hang-seo and his team from scoring at My Dinh Stadium. Meeting an old friend from 2 years ago, who will win?