Vietnam team forgot important weapon: Need to wake up to win big against Nepal

The Vietnamese team lacks dangerous, quality long-range shots to unlock the deep, aggressive defenses of Nepal.

Vietnam team tries to 'drill concrete'

Many questions were raised in the 3-1 victory of the Vietnamese team over Nepal in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, which took place on the evening of October 9 at Binh Duong Stadium.

One of them is: "If the away team Nepal did not lose a man at the end of the first half, when the score was 1-1, would the Vietnamese team have definitely won?"

With the superior quality of the squad and physical strength, perhaps coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will still win even if Nepal has enough players. However, it is obviously a hard-fought victory, because the Vietnamese team has to play a "concrete drilling" style of play, which has long been not the players' strong point.

Hai Long (red shirt) failed to break through Nepal's dense defense.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Against an opponent who only knew how to defend, the Vietnamese team had no special moves, except for crosses from the flanks. Tien Anh's cross for Tien Linh to score was a rare highlight from the home team.

The rest of the time, the right wing drops the ball for Tien Anh to cross, or the left wing drops for Cao Pendant Quang Vinh to penetrate... are all easily predicted by Nepal. Even when playing with more players, the Vietnamese team still plays chaotically on both wings.

The reason is that, when the middle lane was blocked by the "human wall" of the Nepal team, Mr. Kim's team forgot the important weapon called long-range shots.

The Vietnamese team lacked shots from outside the box that could make a difference for two reasons. First, Mr. Kim lacked midfielders who could shoot from long distance. Hoang Duc was a rare face in the match against Nepal who dared to hold the ball and try his luck with "cannon shots". Hai Long, although good at breaking through, still tended to dribble and coordinate more than finishing.

Hoang Duc is a rare player who dares to shoot from afar to find opportunities.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

The remaining attackers such as Thanh Long, Tuan Hai, Tien Linh... chose to coordinate safely instead of finishing outside the penalty area. It was the "steady" and unvaried playing rhythm of the home team that allowed Nepal, despite not being a good defensive team, to maintain a draw for more than 60 minutes.

In addition, the Vietnamese team lacked coordination to open up shooting angles in the middle. Against 9 defenders of Nepal, Hoang Duc and his teammates only crossed the ball and passed. Nepal lost because of their physical weakness and lack of players. But against a stronger opponent, can the Vietnamese team win with such a simple style of play?

Who shoots long range for the Vietnam team?

Mr. Kim still has midfielders and strikers with long shots. That is Duc Chien, the midfielder who used to score regularly for The Cong Viettel thanks to his "cannon shots" in the second line.

In Ninh Binh’s shirt this season, Duc Chien continues to play well alongside Hoang Duc. In a tight game, a powerful and steady kick from Duc Chien can bring new ideas.

Striker Dinh Bac with his dribbling, cutting into the middle and finishing is also a face that coach Kim Sang-sik can take note of.

The young U.23 stars like Dinh Bac and Thanh Nhan are always "reckless", not afraid of breakthrough and risky moves that are easy to bring results, compared to the safe playing style that has become a difficult pattern to change in many senior pillars of the Vietnam national team.

Will Dinh Bac make a difference?

PHOTO: INDEPENDENCE

Against opponents who build a "concrete" formation, crossing the ball and shooting from afar are rare solutions, in the context that the Vietnamese team has not yet reached the level of fluency and methodical passing like Japan, Korea, Uzbekistan to score goals.

The transfer of power is posing many problems for Mr. Kim. It must be recognized that the Korean military leader does not have enough good attacking players to create an eye-catching playing style.

The Vietnam team can only "cut their coat according to their cloth" and use what they have.

In the return match on October 14, Nepal will likely "park the bus" on defense again (in fact, the Nepalese team has no other choice). Coach Kim Sang-sik's team needs to be more creative and adventurous to gain an early advantage, instead of making things difficult for themselves like in the previous match.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-lang-quen-vu-khi-quan-trong-can-thuc-tinh-de-thang-dam-nepal-185251011132921592.htm