Vietnam team continues to experiment: 1.96m tall center back confronts 'genuine' Westerners

Tomorrow afternoon (September 7), the Vietnamese team will enter the second internal friendly match, competing with CAHN Club to test the playing style and personnel.

Vietnam team tests playing style

The Vietnamese team suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat to Nam Dinh FC in a friendly match on September 4. This was an expected defeat, as Nam Dinh fielded a squad of... 11 foreign players. Although it is a V-League club, coach Vu Hong Viet's team is like a miniature European or South American team, with players valued at several hundred thousand USD (about 20-22 billion VND).

The positive point from the defeat is that acting coach Dinh Hong Vinh has tested many new faces, such as goalkeeper Van Chuan, central defender Hoang Phuc, Quang Kiet, Van Toi, midfielder Hoang Anh, Viet Hung, Du Hoc, striker Gia Hung.

Vietnam team (blue shirt) received valuable lesson against Nam Dinh Club

PHOTO: NAM DINH CLUB

"Group 2" of the Vietnamese team was sent onto the field in the second half, in which each name had at least 15-20 minutes to show themselves. Although this was only an internal friendly match (not counting FIFA points) and there was no audience, for the new recruits of the Vietnamese team, being able to play to prove themselves was precious. Because, if the national team played in an official tournament, faces like Quang Kiet and Hoang Phuc would have almost no chance.

Although testing new players at this time is like "panning for gold", when perhaps very few new players can compete for a position in the national team, the mindset of finding new factors is still necessary to create a transition.

Most of the team's pillars are almost 30 years old, some are only playing at an average level. While overseas Vietnamese or naturalized foreign players need time to join the national team and integrate, each new player at this time, even as young as Quang Kiet or Gia Hung, also carries the seed of change.

The new recruits of the Vietnamese team have not been able to make an impression because they have not had time to integrate, and at the same time the opponent is... too strong (Nam Dinh's all-foreign squad even overwhelms the team's mainstays).

Judging rookies after just one game (or even one round) seems hasty.

Nam Dinh's foreign players are all very classy.

PHOTO: NAM DINH CLUB

Most likely, coach Kim Sang-sik's assistant team will give the rookie more opportunities in the friendly match with CAHN Club, thereby having a more comprehensive view in evaluating their abilities and planning for the next training sessions.

Improve your tactics

Another signal worth watching is that in the loss to Nam Dinh Club, the Vietnamese team tried to deploy their play from home, trying to organize ball control, coordinate to find space and attack with clear intentions.

Against opponents with superior physiques (foreign players from 1.82 to 2 m tall), the Vietnamese team could not, and had no intention of, playing long balls. The whole team also boldly pushed up their formation to press and attack fairly. Despite losing heavily, at least Mr. Dinh Hong Vinh's students dared to play football.

The mindset of daring to play football, holding the ball and coordinating... needs to be initiated from friendly matches, then practiced smoothly and improved. To transfer, perhaps it is time for Hoang Duc and his teammates to step out of their comfort zone, dare to make mistakes to have a direction to correct. The Vietnamese team won the AFF Cup 2024 with long passes over the line thanks to an all-round striker like Xuan Son. However, this is not a sustainable path. When Xuan Son was injured, the weaknesses of the Vietnamese team were fully exposed.

The match against CAHN FC will continue to provide the Vietnamese team with valuable lessons. Along with Hanoi, Nam Dinh or The Cong Viettel , CAHN FC is a rare team in the V-League that pursues a controlling and dominating style of play.

"Heavyweight" foreign players like Leo Artur, Alan Grafite, Stefan Mauk, Hugo Gomes will bring difficult problems to the Vietnamese team, especially the rookies like Quang Kiet and Hoang Anh.

However, "real gold" will not fear fire. From difficulties, truly brave and steadfast players will reveal their qualities, to be chosen to nurture the reform of the force in the Vietnam team.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-tiep-tuc-thu-nghiem-trung-ve-cao-196-m-doi-dau-tay-xin-1852509061417565.htm