Vietnam team will be very strong when Xuan Son returns

The exciting run at the Vietnam national team's training ground is the first step on the journey to return to the top of striker Nguyen Xuan Son.

RUN BOLDLY

Unlike the awkward steps 4 months ago, when Xuan Son participated in phase 4 of the recovery process for the injury he suffered in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final, the striker born in 1997 returned more impressively with his first training session with the Vietnamese team.

Xuan Son integrated quickly, performed all exercises, touched the ball accurately and was more confident. "I am 100% fit and ready to play the full 90 minutes or enter the field at any time, just waiting for the coach's command," he shared.

Xuan Son is getting back into the rhythm with the Vietnamese team.

PHOTO: NHAT ANH

Xuan Son helped the Vietnamese team reach the top of the AFF Cup 2024 with 7 goals, including 5 goals against Thailand and Singapore in the semi-finals and finals. The 28-year-old striker only needed 5 matches to win the title of top scorer and best player of the tournament. Although Xuan Son always said that he owed favors to Vietnam, the place he considered his second homeland, the Nam Dinh striker has fully repaid his debt, with an excellent performance that helped coach Kim Sang-sik's team ascend to the throne in a transition period that was still full of confusion. Xuan Son helped the Vietnamese team, now it is time for coach Kim's team to repay the Brazilian striker, by paving the way for him to completely remove the inertia after injury, quickly regaining the image of the "killer" of the past.

Although Mr. Kim has not revealed the personnel plan for the match against Laos on the evening of November 19 (2027 Asian Cup qualifiers), it is likely that Xuan Son will enter the field in the second half. That is the time when the Lao defense often loses strength. Of the 14 goals Laos conceded in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, 12 came in the second half of the match. Coach Ha Hyeok-jun's team has a physical weakness when they often make individual mistakes, cling and mark weak players... in the final period of the match.

That is when Xuan Son can accelerate fiercely to tear the opponent's net, like the way this striker once made the whole Southeast Asia afraid at the AFF Cup 2024. For a striker who has experienced many top competitions, having scored against many strong teams, the "test of fire" with the Laos team is a modest challenge. However, Xuan Son's comeback journey needs to start from the first steps, where he is not alone, but will be continued by the entire attacking system of the Vietnamese team.

MR. KIM'S NEW OFFENSIVE LINE

Besides the return of Xuan Son in the attack, coach Kim Sang-sik has the material to build a new scoring system for the Vietnamese team. The Korean strategist has Tien Linh in his hands, who is increasingly perfecting his playing style, along with a new breeze named Viet Cuong and Gia Hung. Both were born in 2000, and had missed out on many youth tournaments, but are now called up to the Vietnamese team thanks to their tireless efforts in the V-League.

Gia Hung is a modern striker, with the ability to run into people, handle the ball neatly and find space to finish. Viet Cuong has a good physique and strength, with 88 matches (10 goals) for Becamex TP.HCM. Both are "rough gems", can show their abilities if placed in a reasonable system, like the way Mr. Kim effectively exploited Ngoc Tan, Vi Hao or Ngoc Quang at AFF Cup 2024. Importantly, Viet Cuong and Gia Hung are both hard-working, tenacious and extremely enthusiastic players, suitable for pressing and quick counter-attacking games, which require players to have a good physical foundation.

New elements and new ideas are the path that the Vietnamese team is taking. The Vietnamese team only scored 4 goals in 2 matches against weak opponents Nepal, and "failed to score" in the 0-4 loss to Malaysia. In the matches against Singapore or Thailand at the AFF Cup, Mr. Kim's students were also stuck, only able to score thanks to the huge difference from an all-round striker like Xuan Son.

Players are still used to relying on foreign players to create walls and cover space for finishing at the club, and at the same time, the defensive counter-attacking style has been ingrained in the playing style of many players, making it difficult to develop a mindset of imposing the game.

To go far, the Vietnamese team must change; and to change, we cannot just rely on Xuan Son.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-se-rat-manh-khi-xuan-son-tro-lai-185251112225510421.htm