Trong Hoang: The one who 'spreads the fire' at My Dinh Stadium

Matches against Malaysia are not for the faint-hearted. Remember the AFF Cup final at My Dinh Stadium on December 15, 2018, where there was only 1 goal by Anh Duc but players from both teams received 9 yellow cards and 1 red card (center-back Saad received a red card in the 90+5 minute).

Most capped player

Not counting goalkeeper Van Lam's yellow card, Trong Hoang was the first Vietnamese player to receive a "tactical" yellow card from the 16th minute. When the opponent organized a strong attack on the right wing, the midfielder from Nghe An attacked from the left and right to block from afar to reduce the pressure on the home team's goal.

Trong Hoang smiled brightly during the practice session. Photo: Nhu Dat

In such matches, the role of the seniors in the team is extremely important. Being present at the hot spots, competing strongly with the opponent will help the juniors to be more stable. Currently, if Anh Duc is the oldest player, Trong Hoang is the player with the most appearances for the national team (50 matches, 10 goals).

Malaysia is the Southeast Asian rival that Vietnam has faced the most recently. At the AFF Cup 2018, coach Tan Cheng-Hoe met Mr. Park 3 times and the left wing of the Malaysian team was changed 3 times by Mr. Tan Cheng-Hoe to limit Trong Hoang's range of activity.

Tin the sights of coach Tan Cheng-Hoe

In the group stage, he guarded the left wing of the Malaysian team, along with defender Syazwan and midfielder Akhyar, but still let the 30-year-old veteran of the Vietnamese team penetrate this wing. Because Akhyar was busy attacking, defender Syazwan alone could not keep up with the Nghe An defender and the Malaysian team's goal was threatened.

In the first leg of the 2018 AFF Cup final, Mr. Tan Cheng-Hoe decided to use the pair N.Naim and Safawi, taking charge of the left wing. With the policy of attacking a lot to push Trong Hoang back to the home field, limiting the attack of the Nghe An boy. Initially, Coach Tan Cheng-Hoe's intention was implemented quite well, but immediately Mr. Park made an adjustment, Trong Hoang instead of sticking to the sidelines, took the ball straight into the middle.

Trong Hoang - the "fire-spreader" at My Dinh Stadium. Photo courtesy of Trung Kien

It was only with the appearance of naturalized player M.Sumareh that Trong Hoang encountered difficulties. This number 13 moved quickly, rushed in as soon as Trong Hoang had the ball and in a state of having his back turned to the opponent's goal, this midfielder encountered many difficulties.

4th glue

According to experts in the match against host Vietnam, the Malaysian team will change the left-back position. Opposite Trong Hoang will be La'Vere Lawrence Corbin-Ong, a British-Malaysian left-back who plays for Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim. He was born in London, is 1.83m tall, weighs 80kg and plays quite energetically. Playing above will most likely still be midfielder Safawi, who is very familiar with Trong Hoang.

Trong Hoang's enthusiastic and aggressive playing style will inspire his teammates. Photo courtesy of Trung Kien

A new challenge for Trong Hoang in his 51st official appearance on the national team. The pride of Nghe An is in good form so fans believe he will still be the “fire-bearer” for the team.