'Park ball' philosophy and Vietnam national team's chance to move on

Obviously, after 4 consecutive losses, Indonesia has become the “point bank” for the remaining teams. Although there has been progress, Malaysia is still not on par with Thailand, Vietnam and UAE.

Directly competitive group

The Group G battle is divided into 2 groups, the “direct competition” group includes 3 names: Thailand, Vietnam and UAE. The “disruptive” group includes Indonesia and Malaysia, the shortest and easiest way to continue is to win both the first leg - this group (the more goals the better) and gain an advantage in the confrontations with the remaining 2 teams.

Thus, the result of the confrontation between the group of 3 teams Vietnam, Thailand and UAE will decide the ticket to the next stage of the above teams. In football, when the level between the teams is not different, any result can happen when these teams meet.

The “Park ball” football philosophy makes it difficult for the Vietnamese national team to gain an advantage when they are ranked second in the group with the advantage of goal difference. Photo: VFF.

No team has absolute advantage and is forming a three-legged, interlocking situation. The Thai team is at the top of the table but has used up 2/4 of its home matches, the gap of 1 goal is not too big compared to the Vietnamese team. Winning 4 points after 2 matches with the "direct competition" group is temporarily considered a success for Thailand.

The Vietnamese team has just won 2 matches in a row, but those are 2 wins against 2 opponents who are theoretically weaker, in the group that of course must win if they want to continue. We have only got 1 point in the confrontations with 2 opponents in the group of "direct competition". Therefore, the victory of Japanese coach Akira Nishino is highly appreciated.

The UAE team is causing some disappointment with only 6 points, not even against the “direct competitors”. But coach Bert van Marwijk has only played 1 match at home, the away loss to Thailand.

Unpredictable situation

Why is the situation in Group G so unpredictable? First of all, it must be said that in football there is no such thing as a bridge. The Vietnamese team once drew with Thailand, while Thailand beat the UAE, but that does not mean we will easily win against the UAE at My Dinh Stadium.

Japanese coach Akira Nishino is still Mr. Park's direct rival. Photo: VFF

We had a 0-0 draw in Thailand, but that was when Mr. Nishino had only 7 days to get acquainted with the Thai team. The 2-1 victory over UAE on October 15th also showed that the Japanese coach had built a playing style according to his intention. Whether winning or losing to the Vietnamese team, at any time, considering each individual position, Thailand has never been rated lower than Vietnam. The important thing is whether the coach can connect and build a suitable playing style or not?

In Group G, UAE is still considered the biggest candidate for the top spot. The unexpected “stumble” against Thailand will force UAE to focus more on the match with Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium.

With the “Park ball” football philosophy, it is very difficult for the Vietnam team to gain an advantage when standing in second place in the group with the advantage of goal difference. Even in the match against Indonesia when winning 3-0, instead of continuing to attack and score, he turned to experiment with the squad. Therefore, the 2 matches against UAE and Thailand at home will decide a lot about the ticket to the next round for Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates.