Rematch against Malaysia: 2 concerns for Vietnam team

Worry from people...

In fact, after the semi-final round, the Vietnamese team is in good shape as most of them have or are showing signs of recovering from injuries, from Van Toan to Hung Dung. Even after the match with the Philippines, although quite bruised, fortunately there were no injuries.

Looking at that, along with the high form of most of the players that the Korean strategist has in hand, it seems there is nothing to worry too much about for the Vietnamese team before the first leg of the final against Malaysia.

However, looking more closely, it is clear that coach Park Hang-seo is quite stressed with the story of personnel when some players considered key, having a great influence on tactics or rich in experience are not in the best form, typically here are Xuan Truong and Van Quyet.

In the case of the captain of the Vietnamese team, there may not be too much to worry about, because Quang Hai, Van Duc, and even Cong Phuong are showing that they can be replaced, but Xuan Truong is really "tense".

It is true that Truong "hip" is not in good form, but it must be understood that coach Park Hang-seo really needs the midfielder from Tuyen Quang to launch attacks, something that Duc Huy or Hung Dung or Huy Hung cannot do as well.

That is why, despite not playing well, coach Park Hang Seo still has high hopes for Xuan Truong when he started against the Philippines.

...even the gameplay

At the 2018 AFF Cup, what has been shown is that the Vietnamese team is the team with the most unpredictable and versatile playing style in the tournament when in almost every match, coach Park Hang-seo lets his players play differently to achieve victory.

But saying that does not mean that the Vietnamese team is fine, because in reality there are still many things that make Mr. Park worry about the upcoming final match with the Malaysians, and one of them is that the rhythm of the game is not as good as expected.

There was a time at My Dinh on the evening of December 6, when the Vietnamese team was caught up in the Philippines' style of play, even though this team had very few tactics and was not stronger. Everything happened very quickly before Coach Park Hang-seo's students could "wake up", but at least this was something to worry about, not simply because Malaysia was much stronger and more monstrous than the Philippines.

Not only that, although the defense has only conceded 2 goals, after the second leg of the semi-final, another point of concern has been revealed: defending against free kicks, especially with high balls.

The Philippines did not attack much, but just a few free kicks caused chaos for the Vietnamese defense and made it difficult to defend. Of course, the Philippines had the advantage in height, but in reality, Coach Park Hang-seo's players did not know how to choose their positions to create the safest wall for Van Lam.

And the goal conceded in the last minute of regulation time came from such a situation when the Vietnamese defenders ran around in chaos instead of closing in or choosing the best position in the home team's defense system.

These two small things may not weaken the Vietnamese team, but they are a risk for opponents to exploit and make us pay the price...