In both of Indonesia's victories over the Vietnamese team, along with the 2-1 score at the 0 Asian Cup and in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2023 World Cup in Asia that just took place, the team from the land of thousands of islands not playing well.
Domestic experts assess that the Vietnamese team lost on their own rather than their opponents winning. We lost because of mistakes (Thanh Binh pulled the opponent's shirt in the penalty area, leading to a penalty at the 2023 Asian Cup, Minh Trong broke the ball straight into Egy Maulana's foot for this player to score, in the qualifying match World Cup on March 21.3), lost because of poor coordination, because the playing style was unclear, not because Indonesia was too strong.
In fact, coach Shin Tae-yong's team still has weaknesses that the Vietnamese team can exploit.
First, the integration of naturalized recruits with the Indonesian team is not good. Left back Nathan Tjoe-A-On played very poorly at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on March 21.3. He was replaced early, replaced by Pratama Arhan at the beginning of the second half.
Center-back Jay Idzes also has not made a significant contribution to the Indonesian team, other than attacking, taking advantage of his 1,90 m height to put pressure on the small defense of the Vietnamese team, before Indonesia scored. won from a throw-in in the 52nd minute.
This is also understandable, it is difficult for new recruits to immediately integrate into the new team. Furthermore, between naturalized players and genuine Indonesian players there are cultural and language barriers...
This is also the problem for midfielder Thom Haye, or striker Ragnar Oratmangoen, if they are allowed to play in the second leg on March 26.3 at My Dinh Stadium.
The ability of the central defenders on the Indonesian side is not good. They are tall, but not necessarily agile. The evidence is that in the second half of the first leg, there was a situation where Nham Manh Dung reversed the Indonesian team's midfielder quite simply. It's just a pity that Nham Manh Dung's next shot was inaccurate.
Unfortunately, the Vietnamese team has too few coordinated attacks like that. Regarding this issue, former Vice President (PCT) of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Duong Vu Lam commented: "I regret Cong Phuong's absence. His technique and ability to cause mutations can make Indonesia's defense more difficult.
I also regret that faces like Nguyen Tien Linh, Ho Tan Tai, Nguyen Van Toan were brought onto the field too late, there was not enough time for them to change the situation on the field."
The chemistry in the Indonesian team is still not high
In addition, Indonesia's other weakness is that the strikers on the island team still... have not scored. Rafael Struick continues to "fail". This was the 12th match the Dutch-born player played for the Indonesian team. After a total of 12 matches, Rafael Struick has yet to score.
Hokky Caraka also appeared on the field in the match at Gelora Bung Karno on March 21.3 and was no better (the person who replaced Hokky Caraka at the beginning of the second half was attacking midfielder Egy Maulana, the author of the only goal). This poses the problem of continuing to change personnel for the strikers for coach Shin Tae-yong.
Indonesia is not even strong in "live" ball situations. In both matches won by the Vietnamese team from the beginning of the year until now, from the Asian Cup to the World Cup qualifiers, the team from the land of thousands of islands scored all goals from fixed situations (penalty kicks in the Asian Cup, throw-ins). leading to a goal in the World Cup qualifiers), it is important that the Vietnamese team must carefully study the opponent, have appropriate strategies, and have better preparation for the return match.
The Indonesian team is not strong in 'live ball' situations
Former VFF professional PCT Duong Vu Lam analyzed: "Some members of the Vietnamese team said before the first leg that we are carefully preparing for the match at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. But according to what I witnessed, the Vietnamese team was not ready for that match, from psychology to playing style and physical strength. Hopefully the return match will be different."
