"I know Rafaelson (Nguyen Xuan Son) received a lot of boos from the stands at Jalan Besar Stadium and very close attention from the Singapore players, as well as provocation. But he truly is a fantastic player," Matthew Mohan wrote on his personal social media account X.
Nguyen Xuan Son was frequently marked and provoked by Singapore's number one center-back, Lionel Tan.
In an article about the first leg of the 2024 AFF Cup semi-final match on December 26th, where Singapore lost to Vietnam 0-2, with both goals coming in injury time – Nguyen Tien Linh scoring from a penalty in the 90+11th minute and Nguyen Xuan Son scoring in the 90+14th minute – Matthew Mohan commented: "Both goals conceded by Singapore came from their main threat, Nguyen Xuan Son, whose danger was evident even before the match. However, all attempts to stop him were unsuccessful."
Vietnam scored two goals in injury time to beat Singapore in a match played entirely under VAR.
According to Matthew Mohan, Singaporean fans constantly harassed Xuan Son with boos from the stands whenever he had the ball. Furthermore, on the field, Singaporean defenders like Lionel Tan closely followed him and tried to neutralize or provoke him with various taunts.
"However, as we saw, even in the first half, Xuan Son had a daring bicycle kick that hit the crossbar, although the situation was later ruled offside. But that situation showed that the 27-year-old player was not intimidated or influenced by anything from the stands or on the pitch," Matthew Mohan shared.
In the second half, Xuan Son continued to be the player who created many dangers for the Singapore defense. His powerful volley goal was disallowed by VAR due to an unclear handball, further demonstrating the danger posed by this very strong and samba-style striker, Matthew Mohan emphasized.
Nguyen Xuan Son is a player who plays with a strong samba style.
"In a somewhat evenly matched game, with Singapore also having a chance to score when Taufik Suparno's shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu, Nguyen Xuan Son finally made the difference for the Vietnamese team in the last 10 minutes of added time."
Even Singapore's coach, Tsutomu Ogura, had to admit that luck doesn't always come around in football. That's just how football is; the match doesn't end until the referee blows the final whistle. Singapore played well for 90 minutes, but the 10 minutes of added time made all the difference, thanks to the opponent's determination," Matthew Mohan concluded.
Having lost 0-2 at home, the Singapore team will have to put all their efforts into hoping to turn the tables in the return match at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho , where the Vietnamese team will receive tremendous support from the fans, at 8 PM on December 29th.
"This is a huge challenge. But coach Tsutomu Ogura's team will have to fight with all their might. The important thing is that they prepare for this journey for the future, as the team is becoming increasingly promising," commented former Singapore player and commentator Rhysh Roshan Rai.
The ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 will be broadcast live and in its entirety onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-gia-bong-da-dong-nam-a-tam-tac-khen-nguyen-xuan-son-qua-hay-185241227103912236.htm
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