Coach Huu Thang and his team and the opportunity to conquer the AFF Cup 2016 gold cup

(Baonghean.vn) - At 9:25 am on November 15, the Vietnamese team took off from Tan Son Nhat airport on their way to Yangon (Myanmar) to conquer the AFF Cup 2016 gold cup. According to the schedule, we will have a tough opening match with the host team Myanmar.

All beginnings are hard.

Group B of the AFF Cup 2016 will be played in Myanmar, including: Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. Compared to Group A, playing in the Philippines with 4 teams: Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Group B is considered to be easier. The Vietnamese team avoided meeting the strongest opponent in the region, Thailand, and the two most formidable opponents are Indonesia and Singapore. According to the match schedule, we will meet Myanmar, Malaysia, and Cambodia, respectively. This is a match schedule that is considered not favorable for the Vietnamese team.

Vietnamese players before leaving for Myanmar,

In the last friendly match before participating in the AFF Cup 2016 as the host team, Myanmar lost 0-3 to Oman. Coach Zeise's team lost in the 8th minute and was almost pressured by Oman throughout the match.

Meanwhile, Malaysia is the current runner-up of the AFF Cup. At the 2014 AFF Cup, they eliminated Vietnam in the semi-finals. Heading into this AFF Cup, Malaysia has had three friendly matches: losing 0-3 to Indonesia, drawing 1-1 with Afghanistan and defeating 2-1 Papua New Guinea, an Oceania team.

The Cambodian team arrived in Myanmar after a qualifying round of 4 teams: Cambodia, Laos, East Timor, Brunei, after winning all 3 matches. However, up to now, Cambodian football has been highly appreciated compared to the rest of the region.

Experts believe that the three teams Myanmar, Malaysia and Vietnam will compete for the two tickets to the next round; of course, the host Myanmar is considered to have an advantage when playing at home. The Vietnamese team, wanting to decide their own fate, must score points against the host team in the first match taking place at 6:30 p.m. on November 20, 2016. The match with Malaysia 3 days later is considered the decisive match for the second ticket of Group B; whoever wins will be considered to have one foot in the semi-finals.

Diversified attack

On the journey to the AFF Cup 2016, Coach Huu Thang had 10 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, a rather impressive number for a domestic coach. Huu Thang often uses 3 formations: 4-1-4-1, 4-4-2 and 4-3-3; in which he expressed his preference for the 4-1-4-1 tactic, which balances both attack and defense and is suitable for the philosophy of ball possession, low and short passes.

Unlike the AFF Cup 2014, this time in Myanmar, the players and fans all know clearly how the team operates, who is the main player and who is the supporting player. When the trio of Hoang Thinh, Tuan Anh and Xuan Truong are present, the team will of course play 4-1-4-1 with Hoang Thinh playing in the anchor position. If one of those three names is absent, we will play 4-4-2 and the wingers will be given priority to players who can create their own opportunities such as Thanh Luong and Thanh Trung.

Experts even calculated that if the central midfielder pair were Tuan Anh and Xuan Truong, Huu Thang would ask them to exert their strength for about 70 minutes before being substituted.

In attack, Cong Vinh is always the number 1 priority because of his flexibility and experience in the field. Cong Vinh can score with both feet, head well, create opportunities for himself and set up teammates to score. But the coaching staff also has many other options, such as using "virtual striker" Van Quyet, or Van Thang, a striker model like Huynh Duc.

Midfielder Ngo Hoang Thinh will be a mainstay of the Vietnamese national team at the AFF Cup 2016.

In addition to the short, moving attack, Huu Thang also has Ngoc Hai and Hoang Thinh's long passes, which are quite dangerous. Midfielder Phi Son with his "peanut-roasting" feet on the field can also easily earn the team free kicks before the 16.5m box, even 11m penalties. Facing Malaysia's physically strong players, Trong Hoang, with his strength-oriented playing style, will most likely be used. Speed ​​races at a distance of 20-25m will certainly create spaces for teammates to approach the Malaysian goal.

Never before has Huu Thang had as many good free kick takers as he does now: Thanh Trung, Thanh Luong, Minh Tuan, Van Quyet... a series of players have shown their ability to take fixed free kicks. According to calculations, Huu Thang has at least 5-6 options to attack and score, this is extremely important when entering the match. Even Cong Phuong, who "studied" abroad, is only the 3rd or 4th choice of the coaching staff, so it must be said that we have prepared quite well for the attack line.

In defense, there are 12 names, including 3 goalkeepers and 9 defenders. But as a strong center back, Huu Thang knows that it is necessary to stabilize the defense line. The names of goalkeepers Nguyen Manh, Dinh Dong, Dinh Luat, Ngoc Hai and Van Thanh have been nailed down. Only when any player is unfortunately injured, the coaching staff will have a replacement./.

N@T