Vietnam team lacks good strikers

" The Vietnamese team currently does not have a good striker, so we have to prepare very carefully for set pieces. This is an important weapon for us to endanger our opponents ," coach Philippe Troussier told Japan's Friday Digital.

Mr. Troussier brought a number of strikers to the 2023 Asian Cup such as Pham Tuan Hai, Nguyen Dinh Bac, Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Van Tung and Nguyen Van Truong. All of these players were allowed to play but only Tuan Hai and Dinh Bac somewhat met expectations.

Coach Troussier said that the Vietnamese team lacks good strikers.

According to statistics, 3 out of 4 goals scored by Vietnam National Team came from set pieces. Only Quang Hai's goal against Iraq was scored after a combination with Van Toan and Thanh Binh.

Coach Troussier analyzed: " Vietnam's first goal against Japan came from a pass to the near post. This is the result of continuous training. In the second goal, the Japanese players were not focused when defending the second ball. In addition, we scored another goal from a free kick against Iraq ."

The Vietnamese team left the 2023 Asian Cup with 3 defeats, no points, scoring 4 goals and conceding 8. However, coach Troussier and his team still left certain bright spots, mainly coming from the match against Japan.

According to Mr. Troussier, he watched the Japanese team's matches and built a defensive line from a distance. The Vietnamese team tried to put pressure from the middle of the field. The Vietnamese team was forced to defend for most of the match and maintain discipline and distance between the lines.

" We were able to break up many of Japan's typical lightning attacks with short passes. They didn't play long balls so it was easier for us to defend. The Vietnamese team focused on Junya Ito, he tended to dribble into the opponent's defense. However, Vietnam couldn't stop Japan's individuals from shining ," Mr. Troussier regretted.

Mai Phuong

Source