Vietnam - Syria: A fierce encounter

Vietnam drew 0-0 with Syria at the AFC U23 Championship in January 2018. Photo:Mr. Khoa.

*The match takes place at 19:30 on August 27.

If this is the second part of the war, Vietnam are the winners of the first part. At the U23 Asian Cup earlier this year, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team won an important 0-0 draw with Syria in the final round of the group stage, directly eliminating the West Asian opponent. After that match, Vietnam made a miraculous journey to the final.

In the rematch at the Asian Games, Park Hang-seo and his team no longer have the option of a draw to advance. This is a do-or-die knockout match and Syria is ready for all possibilities, having practiced penalty kicks in the training session right before the match. On the Vietnamese side, center-back Tien Dung also declared that the team is not afraid of deciding the match on penalties.

In his pre-match statements, coach Alfakeer Muhannad was always polite and affirmed his inferior position compared to Vietnam. They also complained that they did not have the best preparation for the tournament, and the current squad was far inferior to that of the U23 Asian tournament. But in fact, Syria's squad has 16 players who were present at the U23 Asian tournament, plus three players over 23 years old and only one new face. Coach Park Hang-seo also seemed to realize this and emphasized that Syria was deliberately creating confusion by admitting that they were a weak team. "Syria's squad is of much higher quality than the encounter at the beginning of the year and this could be the biggest challenge for Vietnam since the beginning of the tournament," he assessed.

Syria has a team that is considered stronger in the U23 Asian tournament. Photo:Lam Thoa.

Syria's journey to the quarterfinals is not as impressive as Vietnam's. The West Asian team lost to China 3-0 in the group stage, besides a minimal 1-0 victory over UAE and a 5-2 defeat of weak team Timor Leste. In the round of 16, Syria only had a 1-0 victory over Palestine thanks to a mistake by the opponent's goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is receiving cautious eyes from other opponents when winning all four matches since the beginning of the tournament, scoring seven goals and being one of two teams, along with Uzbekistan, that have not conceded a goal. However, it would be a big mistake if Vietnam entered the match with a subjective mentality. In the most recent match, Vietnam defeated Bahrain thanks to a goal by Cong Phuong, but this was not a good match for Mr. Park's students. The team's defense was weak when the midfield did not do a good job of blocking, allowing Bahrain to create many dangerous opportunities in front of Bui Tien Dung's goal.

Coach Park Hang-seo was pensive during the training session before the match. Photo:Lam Thoa.

Before the match against Syria, Vietnam did not have full squad as midfielder Hung Dung had to return home due to injury and centre-back Dinh Trong had not yet fully recovered. Without two important players in defence, coach Park Hang-seo will have a headache finding someone to fill in. He could let Xuan Manh pair up with Duc Huy in midfield to increase the steel.

Syria has shown its weakness in ball handling at home. They conceded two goals in the matches against China and Timor Leste because the defenders were confused when the opponents pressed and fought fiercely. This is the style of play that coach Park Hang-seo trains the Vietnamese players in. When on the field, he often went to the sidelines to shout at his players to actively fight for the ball.

Since being led by coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnamese teams have never lost to representatives from West Asia. This will give the Vietnamese players more confidence, against an opponent who is eager to get revenge from the U23 Asian tournament.

Expected lineup

Vietnam:Tien Dung (goalkeeper), Van Hau, Tien Dung, Duy Manh, Van Thanh, Duc Huy, Xuan Truong, Van Quyet, Quang Hai, Van Duc, Anh Duc.

Syria:Madnya (goalkeeper), Busmar, Alhamwi, Kurdaghli, Anez, Al Shuayb, Ashkar, Almarmour, Al Ahmad, Koaeh, Shalha.