The Russian team is quite similar to the opponents that Vietnam has faced before, so why should we be 'afraid'?

The Vietnamese team has hardly played against the Russian team in recent years, but we have often encountered the Uzbekistan team, a team with a playing style quite similar to the Russian team.

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Basically, Uzbekistan has a similar playing style to the Russian team, the only difference is the level: Russian football is a bit higher than Uzbekistan football. The Central Asian team is one of the football teams that separated from the former Soviet Union football, so it is not surprising that Uzbekistan football has a similar style to Russian football. It is a fast, technical style of play, but does not forget the physical factor, does not forget the high balls like the style of play of European teams. In recent years, Vietnam's football teams have often clashed with Uzbekistan's teams, so we are not unfamiliar with this style of play. Last year, in a friendly match on October 13, in Dalian (China), the Vietnam team lost to Uzbekistan 0-2.

Đội tuyển Nga dĩ nhiên là rất mạnh so với các đội bóng Đông Nam Á — *The Russian team is of course very strong compared to the Southeast Asian teams.*

The most famous match between the two football teams of Vietnam and Uzbekistan was the final match of the 2018 U.23 Asian Cup, a match that Vietnamese fans later called "the memory of the white snow of Changzhou". In the above match, U.23 Uzbekistan beat U.23 Vietnam 2-1, with Sidorov's decisive goal scored in the last minute (minute 120) of the second extra time. This means that in the clashes with Uzbekistan, the Vietnamese teams achieved not too bad results. Particularly in this year's U.23 Asian Cup, which took place in April, the U.23 Vietnam team lost to U.23 Uzbekistan 0-3. However, that was the match at the end of the group stage, when both teams were already sure of their place in the quarterfinals, so the result of that match was no longer important to either side.

It also means that the representatives of Vietnamese football know how to limit the strength of Uzbekistan. Against this opponent, we cannot risk raising the squad, because they are very good at counter-attacking, their players have high speed and technique, and know how to handle situations well when facing open space. In addition, Uzbekistan players are very good at high balls, typical of teams playing in European style. In this style of play, the full-backs and central defenders of the Vietnamese team need to pay special attention. The full-backs must close in when they have the ball on the wings, reducing the space and time for them to make high crosses. The central defenders must mark well, keep a good distance, in order to successfully control high ball situations like this. As mentioned, the Russian team plays similarly to the Uzbekistan team, but at a higher level. Therefore, when playing against the Russian team, the Vietnamese players need to have a higher concentration.

HLV Kim Sang-sik có thể sẽ thử nghiệm những đội hình khác nhau — *Coach Kim Sang-sik may experiment with different lineups.*

Đội tuyển Việt Nam đã hội quân để chuẩn bị cho giải giao hữu sắp tới — *The Vietnam team has gathered to prepare for the upcoming friendly tournament.*

However, playing against Uzbekistan in recent years is also an experience and a valuable asset for the players under coach Kim Sang-sik, before we face the Russian team. Also from the matches with Uzbekistan, especially from the "memory of the white snow of Changzhou", the Vietnamese team still has hope of scoring against the Russian team. That is to exploit set-piece situations, like the way Quang Hai successfully exploited, scoring against Uzbekistan from a free kick in the match 6 years ago.