Vietnam - Thailand match: Remembering Van Duc and Van Quyet

On the evening of November 19, in the 73rd minute, Safawi scored the second goal for the Malaysian team against Indonesia at My Dinh Stadium, the match between Vietnam and Thailand was taking place in the 58th minute. When the Thai assistant whispered into the ear of head coach A.Nishino, Vietnamese sports journalists understood that the Thai team was preparing to concentrate their efforts to find a goal.

Attack, no score

The Thais had about 30 minutes left to reclaim the second place in Group G from Malaysia, meaning that Park Hang-seo and his team had the same amount of time to play their signature defensive counter-attacks. But in the end, the Thai players had 3 more shots on target from Van Lam, while the home team did not. The audience at My Dinh Stadium had the opportunity to remember Van Duc and Van Quyet.

The opponent clearly understood Van Duc's pragmatic playing style but it was not easy to neutralize. Photo: FBNV

In fact, not only in those 30 minutes but throughout the 2020 World Cup Asian qualifiers, looking at the scoring record, many viewers remembered Van Duc and Van Quyet. We only had 5 goals, including 2 classy goals with personal marks, the first was Quang Hai's trademark shot against Malaysia.

Next was Duy Manh's goal from a corner kick; Ngoc Hai's penalty and Trong Hoang's quick footwork to steal the ball and pass it to Tien Linh to score. Most recently was this striker's lightning-fast kick into the UAE net from 25m away.

The common point of the 5 goals is the individual brilliance, the simple coordination of 2 players, not the organization, the arrangement of the ball through the feet of 3 players or more. What we still get when Van Duc or Van Quyet are present in the team, the goals from the coordination of the group.

Van Toan is a fast player, even better than Van Duc and Van Quyet, but he only dribbles the ball close to the touchline and then passes it back to the back line. Hung Dung can hold the ball and accelerate in the middle or move to the right wing, but rarely gets a chance.

Tien Linh still played a very good role as a wall when his senior passed the ball, but then no one passed it to the B.Binh Duong player. Cong Phuong only showed his effectiveness when coming off the bench and the home team no longer needed a goal. Quang Hai is the type of midfielder who can handle the ball irregularly, but he needs someone to share the fire, to reduce the pressure of the opponent.

Specialized side shots

Van Duc plays simply, to escape the pressing, the Nghe An player simply uses speed. Number 20 constantly changes the speed and direction of the ball to twist the opponent's flank. The difference with other attacking players of the team is that Van Duc has a very good stretch before shooting or assisting his teammates. The opponent clearly understands the pragmatic style of play of the SLNA midfielder but it is not easy to neutralize.

At this time on the Vietnamese football field, Van Quyet is the player with the most annoying ball handling technique. Photo: HNFC

Meanwhile, Van Quyet was not called up to the national team due to the Park ball philosophy. Coach Park Hang-seo, when he prioritizes not conceding goals, not trying to create as many scoring opportunities as possible. Players who do not participate in defense and dribble a lot will not have the opportunity to work with the Korean coach.

It must be admitted that at this time on the Vietnamese football field, Van Quyet is the player with the most annoying ball handling technique. Even foreign defenders are often "smelled smoke" by the captain of the capital team, so it is understandable that Thai players have had many times of trouble when facing Van Quyet.

Calling anyone up to the national team is the right of the head coach and we respect Mr. Park. But the fact that he had more players but could not score more goals against UAE throughout the second half or recently could not score against Thailand when the opponent team had to raise their squad has made fans rememberVan Duc, Van Quyet. Especially when Anh Duc officially leaves the team, the team's attacking options will be even less.