UNBELIEVABLE CHASE
The confrontation between Indonesia and Laos is predicted to be one of the most unequal matches of the 2024 AFF Cup. While Indonesia is playing extremely well in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, drawing with Australia and beating Saudi Arabia, Laos is just a modest team, often eliminated early in the group stage of the Southeast Asian tournament. Even with the core of the U.21 team, Indonesia is still much stronger than the immature Laos team, who are in the process of rebuilding their playing style under the guidance of coach Ha Hyeok-jun.
Coach Shin Tae-yong and the Indonesian team will arrive in Vietnam at 5:00 p.m. on December 13.
However, in football, anything can happen and the 2024 AFF Cup is becoming unpredictable and extremely interesting. Last night, the Laos team only needed 13 minutes to penetrate the home team Indonesia's net twice, both from extremely sharp and methodical counter-attacks. The away team took advantage of the moment when Indonesia pushed up their formation to exploit the space behind the defenders.
Then, the speed and technique of Bounphachan Bounkong brought nightmares to the Indonesian defenders. The Laos captain was the one who made his mark on both goals with his breakthrough ball control and clever movements to open up space for his teammates to score. Laos only made 70 passes, but the attacking situations of Ha Hyeok-jun's students were neat and direct, requiring very few touches to reach the Indonesian goal.
The immaturity of the young defense made the Indonesian team pay the price. Coach Shin Tae-yong's team easily exposed gaps for the opponent to exploit, completely losing contact in man-to-man marking situations. The Lao team exploited this weakness well with one-touch coordination in the middle, causing chaos for the Indonesian defense. In contrast to the rise of Laos, Indonesia played in a panic, losing control of the match despite twice equalizing thanks to Pratama Arhan's "lightning" throw-ins.
Star player Marselino Ferdinan's red card in the second half was a typical example of Indonesia's lack of restraint and control, even though coach Shin Tae-yong's team was only facing the weakest team in the group. Coach Shin had recognized Indonesia's problem before the tournament when he emphasized that it was difficult to face strong teams with only U.21 players, but Indonesia's performance was still disappointing when Laos scored 3 goals. In contrast to Indonesia, Laos played one of their best matches in many years. Bounkong and his teammates were not afraid of the pressure from the home team, did not play a "concrete" defense, but confidently deployed their playing style and passed the ball to create opportunities. The 3-3 draw against Indonesia was a reward for the maturity in both technique and mentality of the Lao team. Coach Ha Hyeok-jun and his team deserved recognition even though Indonesia only used a young squad.
As for Indonesia, their weaknesses have been revealed after two matches. Despite their skills, Asnawi Mangkualam and his teammates lack courage and discipline, and are easily drawn into the opponent's style of play. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his players have watched this match carefully. Let's wait and see how the Vietnamese team will counter Indonesia in the match on December 15 at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ).
PHILIPPINES AND M YANMAR HOLD EACH OTHER'S FEET
In the early match of the second round of Group B, the Philippines started very well against Myanmar. The home team at Rizal Memorial pressed the field and created many opportunities from the flanks, impressively exploiting the Myanmar defense. However, it was Myanmar who opened the scoring. Maung Maung Lwin's free kick in the 25th minute put the visitors ahead.
Ironically, Myanmar lost to Indonesia in the previous match despite creating more scoring opportunities, but in this match when pressured by the Philippines, coach Myo Hlaing Win's students finished effectively to take the lead.
However, Myanmar could not withstand the pressure of the Philippines. The artificial turf at Rizal Memorial is clearly still a big challenge for the visiting teams, and Myanmar was no exception. The Philippines' efforts were rewarded in the second half when goalkeeper Aung Zin Nyi Nyi committed a foul in the penalty area while facing a Philippine striker. Then on the 11m mark, young striker Bjorn Kristensen scored to save 1 point for the home team Philippines. This draw puts both the Philippines and Myanmar at a disadvantage in the race for a ticket to the next round.
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