What can we see after the failures of the Vietnam National Team?

Before the Vietnam team playedWorld Cup 2022 third qualifying roundAlthough it was determined that it would not be easy, and there was little hope of continuing, no one thought things would be so difficult for coach Park Hang Seo and his team.

Vietnam team had an impressive start in the first match. Photo: Hai Hoang

Even right after the first match against Saudi Arabia, then witnessing Oman defeat Japan, many people still think that the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup is not necessarily "hell" for the Vietnamese team.

I think so because in the first match, what Coach Park Hang Seo's students showed was not bad against the top opponent in the continent, scoring first and only losing in the context of losing a man because of Duy Manh's red card...

Then the hope that the Vietnamese team will score points or win grows bigger after each loss, because coach Park Hang Seo and his team only conceded goals due to some controversial situations, or with the minimum score (except for the match against China in the third round).

Under coach Park Hang-seo, Vietnamese football has achieved many successes in a stable manner to become a team that is difficult to beat, and has risen to the top of the region in terms of both FIFA rankings and achievements.

Fans have the right to be proud of this, because after many years under the shadow of Thailand, Malaysia... the Vietnamese team seems to have overcome these opponents in the most certain way, instead of being fragile like the first time winning the AFF Cup in 2008.

But the reality is different. Even if Malaysia has no chance of "sitting on the same mat", there is still Thailand, the team that coach Park Hang Seo has never defeated in an official tournament or when the team has the strongest squad with players playing in Europe or J-League.

The Vietnamese team considers itself number 1 in the region because of its achievements, FIFA rankings, or most recently, overcoming its arch-rival in the second qualifying round of the World Cup to advance... then the Thai people also have reasons to deny everything.

But the Vietnamese team has yet to surpass Thailand, at least the results so far in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Photo: Hai Hoang

For example, in the 3rd qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup, in the first 6 rounds, Thailand earned 1 point against Australia at home in a match that even played better than their opponents. Not to mention their previous performance was not bad, so it is not possible to confirm whether Vietnam or Thailand is number 1 until the real match takes place.

It is undeniable that the Vietnamese team played better than expected in the third qualifying round of the World Cup, at least the results achieved against the strongest opponents in the continent, so the students of the Korean captain can hold their heads high after each match.

But most importantly, 6 consecutive defeats with different scores but the same scenario of those opponents being too strong has given coach Park Hang Seo and fans a truly accurate view of the Vietnamese team's ability, instead of the illusion of strength as before.

We must be aware of that, because in football, if only the determination of the players and the love of the fans are not enough to "sail" out to sea, we must also be faster, stronger, and have a different mindset to be able to go far.

And when we still applaud victories over opponents in the "village", or "click our tongues" to let it go, or make excuses with the reason that the opponent is too strong... it seems that the foundation for entering the 3rd qualifying round of the World Cup will be difficult to repeat in the future.