During an online exchange with Vietnamese fans on the afternoon of March 15.3, Tien Linh confidently said: "After a year with countless difficulties, I thought a lot about the playing style of not only Binh Duong Club but also the national team." . Right now I have the best confidence and feeling on the ball. The next two matches are important and very difficult, but I am mentally prepared. The upcoming return will have many surprises for the Indonesian team."
Tien Linh was very confident in the online exchange with Vietnamese fans
In fact, Tien Linh's shares are completely well-founded. In the previous 5 matches against the Indonesian team, the striker born in 1997 had 4 goals, reaching an efficiency of 0,8 goals/match. Of those 4 goals, there were 2 goals in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and 2 goals in the 2022 ASEAN Cup semi-finals. Notably, the Indonesian team also unexpectedly ranked 4th in the list of opponents that Tien Linh scored the most. Most goals since starting his football career. The top 3 teams are all Vietnamese teams (Da Nang, Saigon and Hai Phong clubs).
In the match at the 2023 Asian Cup - where the Vietnamese team lost 0-1 to Indonesia, Tien Linh did not appear. However, with impressive performance in V-League 2023 - 2024, the 26-year-old player promises to become an important "trigger" in coach Troussier's squad. Tien Linh played all 13 matches in the first leg of this year's V-League with a total of 875 minutes. Binh Duong Club players scored 4 goals, meaning Tien Linh will have nearly 90 goals every 0,35 minutes.
Compared to V-League 2023, Tien Linh's above statistics have improved a lot. Last season, the striker of the Vietnamese team appeared in 18 matches but only had 3 goals. Tien Linh's scoring efficiency/match at that time was only 0,21. This statistic is even lower than the first season that Tien Linh played for Binh Duong Club.
After coach Troussier announced the call-up list on March 11.3, newspaper Bola Times of Indonesia also paid special attention to Tien Linh's appearance. This newspaper wrote: "Indonesia's goal is Tien Linh's favorite target. Mr. Shin Tae-yong and his students need to be wary of this striker's return when meeting the Vietnamese team. Tien Linh can be the solution to the striker crisis that Vietnam is facing."
Tien Linh's performance has improved very positively
Among the 6 strikers currently gathering with the Vietnamese team, Cong Phuong and Tien Linh are the two players with the longest seniority. After Tuan Hai's absence due to injury, the role of this duo is even more appreciated. However, Cong Phuong was not allowed to play at Yokohama FC (Japan) and more or less made fans doubt his feeling on the ball as well as his performance on the field. In the most recent training sessions, Cong Phuong only trained with Vietnam U.23.
Cong Phuong continuously practices with U.23 Vietnam
At this time, Tien Linh is definitely the most expected player on the Vietnamese team's attack line. In particular, on March 21.3, the "Golden Star Warriors" will have a trip that is expected to be difficult at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium with a capacity of more than 77.000 spectators. Tien Linh's form and affinity for scoring goals against the Indonesian team are expected to continue to be maintained, helping the Vietnamese team have good results to create psychological momentum for the return match at My Dinh Stadium ( 26.3).
