Thailand vs Vietnam: The wind has changed direction

After returning to the international field, the Vietnam national team has participated in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers 7 times. The team took the field38 matches only won 10, drew 3 and lost 25, scored 42 goals, but conceded 56 times.

Standing in front of opportunity

To determine the place in the FIFA World Cup finals, Asia usually has 3 qualifying rounds and the Vietnam national team has never passed the first qualifying round. The 22 months that Mr. Park Hang-seo has been in Vietnam has helped our national team to be in the top 15 of Asia. This helps the Vietnam national team to enter the second qualifying round of the World Cup in Asia for the first time with the number 2 seed.

This seed position helps coach Park Hang-Seo and his team have a favorable draw to be able to nurture the hope of winning a ticket to round 3 - the final qualifying round. And if present in round 3, maybe not touching the ticket to the World Cup finals held in Qatar in 2022, the Vietnamese team will also win a ticket to the Asian Cup 2023 finals. Because according to AFC regulations, the second qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 is also the Asian Cup 2023 qualifying round.

It is no coincidence that during his visit to encourage Mr. Park Hang-Seo and his team before leaving for Thailand, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said::"Vietnamese football has the opportunity to touch historical milestones".

On August 24, 2017, U22 Vietnam lost 0-3 to U22 Thailand in the group stage of SEA Games 2017. Since then, with 11 matches at all team levels, we have been undefeated and surpassed Thailand to become number 1 in Southeast Asia.

In 2019 alone, Vietnamese and Thai football teams faced each other 5 times, 1 at club level, 5 at national team level, and we all won convincingly. Quang Hai and the Hanoi players defeated the host club Bangkok United 1-0 in the second qualifying round of the 2019 AFC Champions League.

"The players and I will try our best not to disappoint the Vietnamese people who put their trust in the team." - Mr. Pack said. Photo: VPF.

In the U19 and U23 youth teams, we have all won convincingly. The 4-0 victory of the U23 Vietnam team in the 2020 U23 Asian qualifiers against U23 Thailand has not yet ended, but right at home, the Thai team lost to Coach Park Hang-seo and his team at the King's Cup 2019. Remember, the King's Cup 2019 was a tournament in which the Thais were determined to beat Vietnam at all costs, but in the end, they failed miserably.

Recently, Huynh Nhu and the golden girls lifted the AFF Cup 2019 right on Thai soil, ending the domination of Thai women in 3 consecutive tournaments. The victories of both the men's and women's teams right on Thai soil have made us lose our hesitation when facing Thailand. On the contrary, the Thai people themselves are worried.

Worthy opponent

"Vietnamese football has the opportunity to reach historical milestones." Photo: VPF

Previously, Thai head coaches often did not hesitate to publicly announce their tactical plans, even the starting lineup, weeks in advance when facing Vietnam. Now, coach Akira Nishino, in addition to calling up 33 players, has kept his training and tactical plans a secret.

Thai press, on the one hand, reassured that Japanese coach Akira Nishino was capable of "defeating" Mr. Park, but on the other hand, worried about the "curse" of coach Akira Nishino's three predecessors (not including interim coach Sirisak Yodyardthai) all failing in their debut matches.

Both Kiatisak and star Chanathip have motivated the Thai players, but the Thai media cannot help but be skeptical about this big match. Things became even more confusing when Thai head coach Akira Nishino suddenly decided to dismiss assistant coach Sirisak Yodyardthai just a few days after his appointment. Sirisak Yodyardthai, who led the Thai team at the 2019 Asian Cup as well as the 2019 King's Cup, is said to understand the Vietnamese team.

But the truth or falsehood of the injury status of Trong Hoang and Van Hau is a hot topic in the Thai press. Unlike the long-standing belief that he is the superior team, this is the first time that Thai experts believe that Mr. Akira Nishino has found a worthy opponent to show off his coaching skills.