Vietnam - China: First chance to earn points for Park Hang-seo and his team

Having lost 7 consecutive matches, Coach Park and his team only have the goal of testing the squad and getting the first point in the final qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup. At My Dinh Stadium, under Coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnamese team only lost narrowly to Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia. In the first leg, the host China under Coach Li Tie chose a defensive counter-attacking style of play.

Balance of power

In fact, the opponent still won 3-2, but the Vietnamese team controlled 51% of the ball throughout the match, launched 13 shots compared to China's 12 and made 467 passes with an accuracy rate of 82%. Although we were 2-0 down, we did not give up and had a brilliant second half, causing their defense to be confused many times.

Mr. Park: "The Vietnamese people are really looking forward to this match, I understand. So the players and I are determined to win tomorrow's match." Photo: VFF

New coach Li Xiaopeng brought 26 players to Hanoi without 2 naturalized Brazilian stars, because striker Elkeson did not join the team due to the epidemic while Fernando was absent due to family matters, the match result depends a lot on Wu Lei. It is not difficult to see that coach Li Xiaopeng will play with a 4-2-3-1 formation with the spearhead being number 9 Yuning Zhang, 25 years old, 1.85m tall, with a playing style similar to striker Le Huynh Duc of the Vietnam National Team before. The player of Beijing Guoan has a simple playing style, can shoot the ball with both feet and his aerial ability is a proven fact.

China's Sina Sports newspaper commented:"Vietnam's desire to win this match is obvious, after 7 rounds in the group of 12 strongest teams in Asia without winning any points. Of course, they hope to prove themselves, with a good result against China.

Therefore, in any aspect, victory is a must for coach Li Xiaopeng and his team. If it is a draw, we will be consoled a little with a positive performance. On the contrary, if we lose, I'm afraid no one can accept it.".

Meanwhile, the Korean coach was very determined: “We know tomorrow is the match with the Chinese national team. Tomorrow is also the first day of Tet, so people are very focused. The players and I have all prepared. In Southeast Asia, Thailand has entered this qualifying round but they have never won a match. The Vietnamese people are really looking forward to this match, I understand. So the players and I are determined to win tomorrow's match.”

Quang Hai is the most anticipated name. Photo: VFF

Who will shine?

Regarding the force, the Vietnam national team continued to lack central defender Que Ngoc Hai due to Covid-19, Minh Vuong due to injury, but in return Tuan Hai played quite well in the striker position. The central midfielder duo Hoang Duc and Hung Dung showed confidence in the midfield area so that the attacking players Van Toan and Tien Linh could be relieved of some of their defensive duties.

Coach Park's biggest challenge is choosing who to stop midfielder number 7 Wu Lei on the left wing of the Vietnam National Team. Talking about the correlation, reporter Hu Dieu Hoa of Jiuzhou Media said: "In the Espanyol shirt, Wu Lei has not played much this season. Meanwhile, Quang Hai has just finished playing in the AFF Cup, he was also one of the bright spots of the Vietnam National Team in the match against Australia. In terms of playing condition, Quang Hai is definitely better than Wu Lei".

If Mr. Park returns Quang Hai to the left wing, the confrontation between Quang Hai and Wu Lei will decide the outcome of this match. The number 1 candidate for the 2020 Golden Ball knows what he will have to do to make millions of fans happy on the first day of the Year of the Tiger. The Vietnamese team does not only have Quang Hai, everyone is ready!