Not easy for Vietnam team

Before the first leg of the semi-final against host Singapore, not only did the Vietnamese team face difficulties when playing on artificial turf like in the draw with the Philippines, they also had to face the revelation of their "cards" after the victory over Myanmar.

Xuan Son needs more compatible teammates in the Vietnamese national team's attack - Photo: NK

This morning (December 23), coach Kim Sang Sik and his team left for Singapore to prepare for the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-final. Three days is not enough time for the Vietnamese team to get acquainted and come up with appropriate tactics for the artificial pitch of Jalan Besar Stadium.

From the suffering of artificial turf...

The Vietnamese team has had 10 days of training in Korea and played on artificial pitches in all 3 practice matches there before the 2024 ASEAN Cup. However, the Vietnamese players still had difficulty playing on the artificial pitch of the host Philippines, Rizal Memorial. In addition to not creating many scoring opportunities, the Vietnamese team could only equalize 1-1 in the 90+7 minute thanks to a mistake by the Philippine goalkeeper. Center-back Duy Manh and Doan Ngoc Tan - the player who scored in the match against the Philippines - both admitted after the match that playing on artificial pitches is very difficult. The reason is that the hard pitch can easily cause injuries, and the ball bounces high and is difficult to control. Doan Ngoc Tan himself also suffered scratches on his arms and legs, forcing coach Kim Sang Sik to let him rest in the final group match against Myanmar. Until the morning of December 22, this 30-year-old midfielder did not participate in physical training with his teammates in the group that played less or did not play in the Myanmar match. The artificial pitch of Jalan Besar Stadium is also another challenge that the Vietnamese team must overcome for the first leg of the semi-final against Singapore. Also at this stadium, the Vietnamese team under coach Park Hang Seo, although highly rated, controlled the ball up to 77%, launched 23 shots compared to only 4 shots of Singapore, but only drew 0-0 in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2022 (the predecessor of the ASEAN Cup 2024). Quang Hai, Tien Linh, Pham Tuan Hai... were all at the peak of their performance at that time, but were all unable to score.

…to the point of revealing the cards

Of course, the impressive performance of naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son in his debut match, winning 5-0 against Myanmar, raised many expectations for the Vietnamese team before the semi-finals of the ASEAN Cup 2024. With 2 goals and 2 assists, Xuan Son was not only the best player of the match but also proved to be the perfect piece for the Vietnamese team in their journey to conquer the championship.

With Xuan Son, the Vietnamese team, which is highly rated, will have more confidence in overcoming difficulties against Singapore, who will certainly play defensively on the artificial pitch. But we have to wait for the reality on the pitch, because this Brazilian-born striker, although he has trained on the artificial pitch in Korea, has not yet played on the artificial pitch of the Philippines' Rizal Memorial recently. Therefore, his adaptation to the artificial pitch when playing officially is still a question mark. More importantly, Singapore has seen how dangerous Xuan Son is, how the Vietnamese team operates when he is on the pitch in the match against Myanmar, and from there, come up with appropriate countermeasures for the upcoming semi-final match. Long balls and high balls are Singapore's strengths. So dealing with the Vietnamese team playing long balls, focusing the ball for Xuan Son to finish is not difficult for Singapore. Not to mention, the Vietnamese team also suffered a loss when striker Van Toan had to leave early due to injury in the match against Myanmar. In addition to left-back Van Vi, Van Toan is a good partner with Xuan Son at Nam Dinh Club and the current Vietnam national team. Therefore, without Van Toan - who plays well in attack, Xuan Son is also somewhat affected. That is something that coach Kim Sang Sik cannot hide his worry when he has to urgently find a new partner for his main striker. Winning big against Myanmar actually does not say much about the strength of the Vietnam team. That is because Myanmar is still an underdog. As for Singapore, although they did not play well, they still overcame Malaysia to win a ticket to the semi-finals with Thailand in Group A. Do not forget that the nature of a knockout match will be much more tense than the matches in the group stage. In addition, depending on a star also has great risks if Xuan Son is surrounded by opponents. Therefore, in addition to helping his students actively adapt to the artificial pitch at Jalan Besar Stadium, coach Kim Sang Sik also has to prepare more diverse tactics for the Vietnam team. In the victory over Myanmar, Tien Linh, when coming on to replace Van Toan, passed the ball to Xuan Son to score and vice versa. But the semi-final match certainly won't be that easy!

Van Toan says goodbye to ASEAN Cup 2024

In the 5-0 win over Myanmar on the evening of December 21, striker Van Toan had to leave the field in the 62nd minute after a strong collision with an opponent. After the match, he was closely followed by the medical team and limped to greet the audience. On the morning of December 22, Van Toan was taken for examination and X-rays of his injury. The result was that he had a contusion of the collateral ligament of his right knee. This type of injury requires at least 4-8 weeks to recover. Thus, it can be understood that Van Toan had to say goodbye to the ASEAN Cup 2024 journey with the Vietnamese team. The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) also confirmed that the possibility of Van Toan playing in the semi-finals against Singapore (December 26 and 29) is not high. He will still travel with the team for the medical team to take care of him. The match against Myanmar was the first time Van Toan was placed in the starting position as a right winger, replacing Hai Long who was slightly injured and had to practice separately since the 1-1 draw with the Philippines. Coach Kim Sang Sik currently has Chau Ngoc Quang as the right winger. In addition, he can use Vu Van Thanh - who has played this position many times for the Hanoi Police Club.

Nguyen Khoi - Hoang Tung

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khong-de-cho-tuyen-viet-nam-20241223101506315.htm