Asian Cup C2 after the first leg: Disappointing for Thai clubs, pity for 2 Vietnamese representatives

Thailand has 3 names in the group stage of the Asian Cup C2 this year. They are the country with the most representatives and in the Southeast Asian region, Thailand is also considered the football country with the most opportunities to go far. Because for many years, Thai club football has proven its ability on the international stage. They possess great resources, capable of competing with the powers of the continent.

But after the first leg of the Asian Cup C2 this year, Thai teams have all been disappointing. Among the three representatives, none of the clubs including Ratchaburi, BG Pathum and Bangkok United have risen to a position worthy of their potential and the expectations of their fans.

In the latest round, Ratchaburi, BG Pathum and Bangkok United all won. However, Ratchaburi's 5-1 victory over Eastern FC was the club's first win since the start of the tournament. With only 3 points from 3 matches, Ratchaburi is lagging behind Nam Dinh and Gamba Osaka in the race for a ticket to the next round.

Ratchaburi is being surpassed by Nam Dinh and Gamba Osaka.

The same goes for BG Pathum and Bangkok United. Both teams are in the low positions in their group. Chanathip's BG Pathum has only 3 points, even 6 points behind Tampines, a Singaporean club. BG Pathum still has a chance to advance to the next round, but it is very small because in addition to Tampines, they have to compete with Pohang from Korea.

The team with the most points for Thai football so far is Bangkok United. But with 6 points after 3 matches, standing below Persib Bandung of Indonesia, surely Thai fans still cannot be satisfied with their team.

Disappointment is the feeling fans have about the Thai clubs, while regret is perhaps what fans might say about the two Vietnamese representatives. CAHN just suffered their second bitter loss of points after a 2-2 draw against Beijing Guoan. In the match against Macarthur FC on the evening of October 23rd, the Vietnamese team dominated and scored first. But they unexpectedly slowed down in the second half and conceded a 1-1 equalizer. After the first leg, CAHN is leading but with only 5 points (the lowest points total for the top team since the start of the tournament), coach Polking's team certainly cannot rest easy.

As for Nam Dinh, although they have won 2 out of 3 matches and are only behind Gamba Osaka, the current champion LPBank V.League 1 still has reason to worry because the more they play, the more their performance declines. The consecutive losses in all competitions will certainly affect Nam Dinh in their efforts to win a ticket to continue in the Asian Cup C2.