A fascinating confrontation

2 heavy artillery pieces

After two consecutive goalless matches (Thailand against Cambodia in the final group stage match and against the Philippines in the first leg of the semi-final), Suphanat Mueanta scored again at the AFF Cup 2024. The Thai national team player now has 4 goals, equal to the number of goals scored by his teammates Patrik Gustavsson and Nguyen Tien Linh of the Vietnamese national team, and one goal behind Nguyen Xuan Son.

Xuan Son, Tien Linh, Gustavsson, and Suphanat are also competing for the top scorer title in this year's AFF Cup. Each of them has two more matches (the first and second legs of the final) to reach this title. Among them, Xuan Son and Suphanat are the main goalscorers for Vietnam and Thailand, respectively.

The Vietnamese team's journey to the final was largely thanks to Nguyen Xuan Son. He missed the first three group stage matches due to FIFA regulations. He only appeared in the final group stage match against Myanmar and has only played three games since the start of the tournament. Despite this, Nguyen Xuan Son scored in every game. He currently has a total of 5 goals, averaging 1.67 goals per game.

Suphanat Mueanta did not play in the final group stage match, when Thailand faced Cambodia. In the remaining five matches for the Thai team, up to the final, the 22-year-old striker scored a total of 4 goals, averaging 0.8 goals per game.

In terms of match-to-goal ratio, Suphanat Mueanta is only about half that of Nguyen Xuan Son, but the roles of these two players are different, so it's difficult to compare them based solely on those statistics. Nguyen Xuan Son usually plays as a center forward for the Vietnamese national team; he always plays in the highest position in the team's winning formation, specializing in receiving passes from all directions from his teammates.

The difference between the two top stars

Suphanat Mueanta, the young striker for the Thai national team, plays as a withdrawn forward. Besides scoring goals, Suphanat also has the task of passing the ball to center forward Patrik Gustavsson to score. Furthermore, Suphanat is rarely given penalty kicks, so his value lies not simply in the number of goals he scores.

Suhanat's header (in the blue shirt) sent Thailand into the final.

Screenshot

Suphanat Mueanta's dribbling sometimes disrupts the opposing defense, creating space for other Thai forwards to exploit and take shots. These are Suphanat's intangible contributions. As for Nguyen Xuan Son, he is highly regarded not only for his diverse finishing abilities but also for his extremely keen sense of "opportunity-sniffing." Often, Xuan Son knows exactly where the ball is headed before he shoots into the net. Nguyen Xuan Son detects opportunities before the opponent realizes the risk of conceding, leaving them unable to stop the Vietnamese national team's striker.

Another difference between Xuan Son and Suphanat is that the Thai player is more technically oriented, playing romantically like an artist. Conversely, while Xuan Son is not inferior technically, he plays more with strength. Xuan Son's moves are always as simple as possible, with as few touches as possible, because the fewer touches he makes, the less time the opposing defenders have to retreat to stop him.

Each player is dangerous in their own way, with their own unique style. Their commonality lies in the fact that if the opposing defense makes a mistake, Nguyen Xuan Son and Suphanat Mueanta will immediately punish those moments of carelessness. Whichever player performs better in the matches between Vietnam and Thailand on January 2nd and 5th, 2025, their team will most likely win the 2024 AFF Cup.

Watch the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 live and in its entirety onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xuan-son-cham-tran-suphanat-o-chung-ket-lich-su-cuoc-doi-dau-ky-thu-18524123023363498.htm