VAR causes controversy, Vietnam team loses regrettably

On the evening of September 7, the Vietnamese team met Australia at My Dinh Stadium in the second match of the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup.

The Vietnamese team started the game quite well and created the first opportunities towards the opponent's goal. Photo: Hai Hoang

Right after the opening whistle was blown, the Australian players rushed to the Vietnamese side of the field. In addition to the traditional high balls, Australia also had beautiful overlapping passes and short ball combinations. However, the first opportunity came to the Vietnamese team from a counter-attack in the middle of the field, the ball was passed to Van Duc. This Nghe An player had a beautiful pass to Quang Hai to face the away team's goalkeeper, but this player shot the ball over the bar.

In the first 20 minutes of the match, although the opposing team had more possession of the ball, Park Hang-seo and his team still maintained a very good formation. This made it very difficult for Australia to create space in front of goalkeeper Dang Van Lam's goal.

The team's three strikers play well together. Photo: Hai Hoang

The Vietnamese team attacked less but their attacks always contained surprises. There were a few passes between Van Duc and Quang Hai that worked well together. However, they still could not create clear opportunities on the opponent's goal.

The away team continued to attack Trong Hoang's wing. However, Hoang "the cow" played very calmly and accurately neutralized all of the opponent's attacks.

Not only is Trong Hoang good at defending, he also has impressive attacking passes. This defender has had many beautiful overlapping plays with Quang Hai and Hoang Duc, creating sharp counterattacks.

In the 30th minute of the match, from Hong Duy's powerful shot, the ball hit the opponent's defender's hand in the penalty area, however the referee did not award Vietnam a penalty kick.

This was a controversial situation, because the ball was headed towards the opponent's goal and the defender's hand was not close to his body. However, after reviewing VAR, the referee did not award Vietnam a penalty.

Hong Duy played very well in this match. Photo: Hai Hoang

The away team continued to use high balls from both sides to take advantage of the height of the strikers. In the final minutes of the first half, also from a high ball pass from the player wearing the number 10 shirt, the opposing team completely eliminated the Vietnamese defense and Australia's number 4 defender headed the ball across the goal, defeating goalkeeper Van Lam.

In the second half, striker Van Toan was sent onto the field by coach Park to replace defensive midfielder Tuan Anh.

Right from the first minutes of the second half, Vietnam was the team with the first clear chance. From Trong Hoang's penetration from the right wing, the ball came to Quang Hai's feet, this player handled it a bit awkwardly and missed the opportunity for the Vietnam team.

After Van Toan's presence, our attack has had more diverse attacking routes.

From this striker, the ball was passed to Hong Duy's feet, but unfortunately no home team player touched the ball.

In the first minutes of the second half, Mr. Park's team played very well. Phan Van Duc had a chance with a dangerous shot from outside the penalty area, but the opposing team's goalkeeper caught the ball.

Quang Hai created many opportunities but could not convert them into goals. Photo: Hai Hoang

When the second half of the match was almost half over, Van Duc and Tien Linh showed signs of fatigue, so Duc Huy and Duc Chinh were allowed to enter the field by coach Park Hang-seo.

At this time, the three strikers of Vietnam were Van Toan, Quang Hai and Duc Chinh. Immediately, this trio had effective coordination, bringing many opportunities for the Vietnam team.

In the final minutes of the match, the Vietnamese team played in a 5-3-2 formation. Although the Golden Star Warriors were somewhat exhausted, they played with great effort and resilience, creating a fairly balanced match with the top team in the continent.

In the extra time of the match, from an attack on the right wing, Duc Chinh had a chance to shoot the ball when he was only facing the opposing team's goalkeeper, but the ball unfortunately missed the goal.

Overall, although the Vietnamese team did not get any points against a world-class team, this match left many good impressions in the hearts of fans.

The opposing team has many players playing for top European clubs. Although they controlled the ball better, they did not create many opportunities towards Dang Van Lam's goal.

Our team played very well in this match. The reasonable distance between the players helped the Vietnamese team control the opponent's attacks well, along with effective attacks. The attacks of Park Hang-seo and his team were quite diverse, many attacking options were applied, thereby creating many opportunities to attack the away team's goal.

Among the 3 Nghe An players participating in this match, we must give special praise to defender Trong Hoang. He is like a tireless machine of attack and defense. The opposing team used Trong Hoang as the main attacking wing, but the Nghe An player played with determination and precision in his interceptions, neutralizing most of the visitors' attacks.

Van Duc and the Nghe An players played quite well in this match. Photo: Hai Hoang

Captain Que Ngoc Hai played very calmly, as the leader of the Vietnamese team's defense. He covered well many times, and was a solid blocker for the surrounding satellites. As for Van Duc, although he was not a striker who played very prominently in this match, he was a good bridge between the midfield and the strikers of our team.

Starting lineup:

Vietnam:Van Lam - Trong Hoang, Thanh Chung, Ngoc Hai, Tien Dung, Hong Duy - Quang Hai, Tuan Anh, Hoang Duc, Van Duc - Tien Linh.

Reserve:Tan Truong, Van Toan, Viet Anh, Thanh Binh, Van Kien, Tan Tai, Van Thanh, Xuan Truong, Duc Huy, Tuan Hai, Duc Chinh, Van Toan.

Australia:Ryan - Grant, Sainsbury, Souttar, Smith - Irvine, Hrustic - McGree, Rogic, Mabil - Taggart.