ASEAN Cup 2024 Semi-Finals: Who will replace Van Toan to 'supply ammunition' for Xuan Son?

If he recovers, Hai Long (middle) will replace Van Toan to support Xuan Son - Photo: NK

Van Toan is a good partner of Xuan Son in the attack of Nam Dinh Club and the current Vietnam national team. Playing on the artificial pitch of Jalan Besar is not easy, so coach Kim Sang Sik needs to choose the right personnel and playing style to achieve the best results.

Who replaces Van Toan?

In Nguyen Xuan Son's debut in the final match of the group stage against Myanmar, coach Kim Sang Sik put Tien Linh on the bench in the starting lineup. In addition, Mr. Kim also arranged two other players from Nam Dinh Club, Van Toan and Van Vi, to play from the start to help Xuan Son have the best possible support.

Xuan Son's first goal to make it 2-0 in the win over Myanmar was not created by Van Vi or Van Toan. But the role of both, especially Van Toan, in the way Vietnam's team plays together by passing the ball to Xuan Son is very important.

Unfortunately, Van Toan had to leave the field early in the 62nd minute due to injury. However, his superior class helped Xuan Son continue to shine in both scoring and assisting, thereby helping the Vietnamese team to a resounding 5-0 victory.

Van Toan's injury caused Xuan Son to lose his ideal attacking partner for the semi-final match against Singapore. And now coach Kim Sang Sik will have to choose a suitable replacement. In the four group stage matches of the 2024 ASEAN Cup, the two remaining players that Mr. Kim often used as right wingers were Hai Long and Chau Ngoc Quang in a 3-4-3 formation.

Hai Long showed impressive performance in the two matches against Laos and Indonesia. However, he was not registered for the next two matches against the Philippines and Myanmar due to a minor injury. And if Hai Long does not recover in time, Mr. Kim has a reason to have a headache because Chau Ngoc Quang is not highly rated in this role.

But Tuan Hai is also an option that cannot be ignored because his speed and technical dribbling down the wing have been proven under coach Park Hang Seo. And this is also the position he often plays at Hanoi Club.

Coach Kim Sang Sik's calculations

The Vietnamese team played brilliantly against Myanmar in a 3-4-3 formation for most of the match. Xuan Son played highest up front, supported on the wings by Van Toan (right) and Bui Vi Hao (left). After the first 45 minutes of rather out-of-sync coordination, Vi Hao and Xuan Son gradually coordinated well in the second half. Xuan Son passed the ball to Vi Hao to score the opening goal in the 48th minute. Then it was Vi Hao's turn to pass to Xuan Son to score, raising the score to 2-0.

But when Van Toan was forced to leave the field due to injury in the 62nd minute, the Vietnamese team switched to a 3-5-2 formation with the striker pair Xuan Son and Tien Linh. This formation was immediately effective. Tien Linh was the one who passed to Xuan Son to score, raising the score to 4-0 in the 90th minute.

And two minutes later, it was Xuan Son's turn to pass to Tien Linh to score, sealing the 5-0 victory. However, it is difficult to evaluate the absolute effectiveness of the Xuan Son - Tien Linh pair when Myanmar was weaker and no longer had the will to fight after being led 3-0 by the Vietnamese team from the 74th minute.

Therefore, coach Kim Sang Sik must carefully calculate for the away match in Singapore. The knockout round will not be easy when all teams play cautiously, Singapore is a better team than Myanmar, playing good high balls. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese team will face many difficulties when playing on the artificial pitch of the host Singapore. The force in Mr. Kim's hand in the 3-4-3 formation on the right wing is also "damaged" quite a bit.

Therefore, choosing to play 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 is something that Mr. Kim must calculate based on Hai Long's recovery and the performance of the whole team on the training ground during the three days in Singapore. Against weak Myanmar, the Vietnamese team, even with Xuan Son, will have to continue to have the fourth consecutive match without being able to score in the first half. Therefore, being careful in preparing for the match with Singapore is a must if we want to achieve good results.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ban-ket-asean-cup-2024-ai-thay-van-toan-tiep-dan-cho-xuan-son-20241223224307437.htm