From AFF Cup, looking at Vietnamese football and its 'Achilles' heels'

Surely at this AFF Cup, people will still talk a lot about the Indonesian team with an average age of 23 led by Korean coach Shin Tae-yong with remarkable progress in the past 2 years, although the rough playing style and amateur behavior have not yet been erased. But just look at the way the main card, the most experienced football player in the archipelago, Evan Dimas, only entered the field in the second half of the match againstVietnam National Team, only being on the field for a few minutes at the end of the thrilling match with the host team Singapore, shows how impressive and trustworthy the young squad that lost 3-1 and 4-0 in the second qualifying round of the World Cup is.

Indonesia's match with Singapore was marred by excessive fouls. Photo: Getty Images

But remember, when they overwhelmed the Singapore team in the second leg of the semi-final, causing the home team to lose players one after another, this young team lost their advantage very easily and it was incomprehensible why? And if the penalty kick at the end of the match was successful for the home team Singapore, everything that was going so well for the Indonesian team would quickly be buried in... hell! Surely, despite many strengths being recognized, Mr. Shin Tae-yong also deeply engraved in his mind the moments of panic and losing themselves in a split second that the talented young team under his command performed in the second half of the second leg of the semi-final against Singapore?

Meanwhile, the strongest force that the Thai team broughtAFF CupThis time, they have been playing explosively, tightly and effectively as they have always performed. But if you look closely, there are still some noticeable flaws. For example, in the group stage match against the weaker team, the Philippines, if there had not been a controversial penalty, they would have had to share unwanted points when both Chanathip and some other key players played superficially and subjectively?

The situation of Vietnam team facing Thai goal. Photo: Internet

And this is something that cannot be ignored: in the last 2 matches against the Vietnam National Team, they were awarded penalties but were unsuccessful when they were blocked by Van Lam and Nguyen Manh. That was the shot that Van Lam used his foot to block from the famous defender Theerathon in the second leg of the 2nd qualifying round of the World Cup at My Dinh Stadium (November 2019). That was the nerve-wracking shot by "Thai Messi" Chanathip right in the middle of the goal to defeat Nguyen Manh and the will of the Vietnam National Team, but this former SLNA goalkeeper "caught the trick" of his opponent and blocked it coldly in the first leg of the AFF Cup semi-final. This has helped us realize that, even when leading the Vietnam National Team by 2 goals to nil, the Thai people are still afraid of the Vietnam National Team, even though they have 2 top stars like Theerathon and Chanathip?

And we cannot help but talk about the "Achilles heel" of the Vietnam national team in this AFF Cup. When Vietnamese football reached the top of the region, every step, every operation, every position... were "clearly observed" by the opponents. The formula for success of Mr. Park and his team was therefore quickly "decoded". The strengths of the Vietnam national team will sooner or later become weaknesses for all opponents to freely attack. In addition, the team's 6-month concentration and continuous competition caused their resilience and agility to disappear, so the Thais quickly exploited both counter-attack situations and central wall passes to easily score goals as we have seen.

Quang Hai had 2 shots that hit the crossbar of the Thai team. Photo: Internet

Don't blame the absence of a series of key players in the Vietnam national team, because if they were still on the field, all their skills would be revealed to the opponent. And they are always the ones who work the hardest after many difficult matches, so it cannot be said that they can maintain their momentum as desired. It is not a coincidence that a series of stars are out of shape, losing form, except for Quang Hai and to some extent Hoang Duc, except for Nguyen Manh who proved his ability after a long time of not being called up...

To see, when the Vietnam team revealed many weaknesses, especially in 1 group stage match (against Indonesia) and 2 semi-final matches (against Thailand), there was not a single goal, it was enough to say that the attacking quality of the defending champion team was "blunt" to the point of red alert. Of course, there were also reasons from the ball supply, from the way of playing, the way of deploying the lines and most of all, the approach to the match, reading the match to make substitutions from the coaching staff...

Surely after this tournament that failed to complete its mission, the nickname "wizard" for Mr. Park Hang-seo will be less talked about, and may even fall into oblivion if the Vietnam National Team and U23 Vietnam do not renew themselves, improve themselves to minimize the weaknesses that have been exposed to the opponent?