Vietnam-Laos: Opportunity for Van Duc to show himself

For 3 years, Van Duc has not scored for the national team in official tournaments. His most recent goal was against the Philippines in a 2-1 victory on December 2, 2018. But he is still an important player in the playing tactics of Coach Park and the Vietnam team.

No goals, no assists

Nghe An fans expect Van Duc to “bring a gift” to us in the first match. Photo: FBCN

In 9 matches of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Van Duc played 438 minutes, leaving no mark on either scoring or assisting for the team. So why does Coach Park always protect this number 20 and will Van Duc meet the tactical requirements of the coaching staff at the 2021 AFF Cup? First of all, in Coach Park's eyes, this left winger is used as an attacking player with the best defensive ability. In the context of Van Hau's injury, Coach Park understands more than anyone the difficulties on this wing.

Having to follow the ball as assigned by the coaching staff made Van Duc retreat far from the opponent's goal, limiting his ability to communicate with Tien Linh. Coach Park had to leave this number 20 on the bench, creating opportunities for other players to enter the field. But he still affirmed that Van Duc is still an important player of the team, even though he has not scored recently. In fact, it is not that Van Duc does not have opportunities, but having to handle the ball is very difficult, against high-class defenders, number 20 does not have moments of brilliance. Most of the team's attacking players are quite hasty and hasty when they have the ball because they are afraid that the opponent will steal it.

The team is ready. Photo: VFF

In fact, Coach Park tested Duc Huy, a player with a better defensive tendency than Van Duc. But in reality, against opponents of continental class, if you only fight for the ball well but are not able to launch an attack, you will immediately lose the ball. Observing the 1-3 loss to Oman when Van Duc did not play, the 3-man midfield of Duc Huy, Hoang Duc, Quang Hai played, we saw that above Tien Linh, Quang Hai were still "hungry for the ball" while the defense was constantly under pressure. Those with deep expertise all realized that Van Duc's decline was reasonable and not too worried.

Opportunity

The fact that Van Duc did not leave a professional mark was simply because the opponent was beyond his ability and in fact, even Cong Phuong, when he was put on the field, could not score. What Mr. Park was assured of was that in the most recent match, against Saudi Arabia, Van Duc played in better form. The match against the Laos team was an opportunity for the team's coaching staff to put Van Duc on the field to adjust their guns before meeting Malaysia.

When playing against opponents in the Southeast Asian region, Van Duc's ability to break through and handle the ball at high speed in attacking situations on the flanks will be promoted. As a player who participated in the previous AFF Cup and many times faced Laos and regional teams, Nghe An fans expect Van Duc to "have a gift" for us in the first match.