Steve Darby: "Vietnam team will play defensively, the rematch will be extremely fierce"

The Vietnamese team defeated Thailand 2-1 in the first leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ) on the evening of January 2. Nguyen Xuan Son's first goal helped the home team break the deadlock in the first minutes of the second half, after a rather deadlocked first half. From Quang Hai's sensational and visionary pass, Van Thanh headed the ball towards the second post for Xuan Son to jump high and finish close to the goal, scoring against the opponent.

The second goal came from a situation where Xuan Son stole the ball from Chalermsak Aukee near midfield, before dribbling strongly into the penalty area and finishing decisively across the corner, defeating the Thai goalkeeper.

It was a great goal. However, Thailand made two mistakes in this play. First, they tried to play the ball from behind all the time, which is as dangerous as “playing with knives”. Second, if they were a good defender, after losing the ball, they should have fouled Xuan Son.

At that time, the ball was still outside the penalty area and the defender only received a yellow card. I did not think the referee would give a red card, because there were still people behind the Thai defense. Of course, I still have to admit that Xuan Son was very confident and superior in skill.

This move made me believe that the Thai team was still quite immature, lacking the cunning and ruthlessness needed to win at the highest level of the region. On the contrary, I saw the bravery and coolness of the Vietnamese team in the situation where the Thai player was lying on the ground but the players in red shirts still continued to attack.

I think it was the right decision. The referee should be the one to stop the game, and if Thailand wanted to stop, they could have cleared the ball or even committed a foul. Even when they had the ball, Thailand still organized an attack instead of clearing the ball out, which proved that the Vietnamese players made the right decision.

I think to be more professional, the player lying on the field needs to quickly get up and continue playing. This should be applied in Southeast Asian football tournaments, because many players deliberately lie on the field to waste time.

Honestly, my first reaction when watching the match was that it was like “men vs. children”.

The reason is that Vietnamese players look taller and stronger than Thai players. This is quite rare when imagining Vietnamese players in the past, but if V-League continues to develop strongly, players are trained better physically at the club, then that is a good sign for Vietnamese football.

In front of the enthusiastic cheers of thousands of spectators at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho) on the evening of January 2, the Vietnamese team won a deserved victory over the Thai team. In my opinion, that impressive performance has continued to affirm the position of Vietnamese football in the region.

Personally, I am happy that the matches have been moved from My Dinh Stadium, creating opportunities for fans in other localities to witness the national team in action. Besides, the quality of the grass at Viet Tri Stadium seems to be better than My Dinh Stadium in the past few years.

Naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son (Rafaelson) has proven his ability with 2 goals and can score 2 more in the return match against Thailand. He is currently the leading scorer with 7 goals after only 4 matches, while the next strikers on the list only have 4 goals, including Tien Linh.

Xuan Son not only scored beautiful goals but also showed his ability to dominate and his confidence in individual situations, proving his superior class.

However, from a personal perspective, I oppose the naturalization of players to play for the national team only with the condition of 5 years of residence. I think that the use of naturalized players is only acceptable if they have blood ties. This is an issue that Vietnamese football should exploit in the way Malaysia or Indonesia have done.

There are many risks in the issue of naturalizing players. Firstly, this can hinder the development of local players. For example, at the AFF Cup 2024, Tien Linh's playing time was quite limited.

Second, this could lead to policy exploitation. Some foreign players will try to become naturalized to earn more income. This is a problem that Singapore football faces, weakening them when many naturalized players leave.

Brazilian football produces excellent players, but do they love Brazil or another country? Where will the Vietnam team go if the squad is full of naturalized players? Of course, I cannot blame Coach Kim Sang Sik. He is also a foreigner and the job of a coach is always evaluated based on results, so Coach Kim Sang Sik must use the best players.

Under the guidance of coach Kim Sang Sik, the Vietnamese team not only scored the most goals but also conceded the fewest (18-4). Solid defense combined with sharp counter-attacking play brought positive results.

However, all eyes will be on the return leg at Rajamangala Stadium (Thailand) on the evening of January 5, where the pressure is greater and the challenge is more fierce. With the nature of media and social networks, Coach Kim Sang Sik is currently the hero, but after 90 minutes of the second leg final, everything can completely change.

The only thing that disappointed me was the late goal conceded by the Vietnamese team. 8 minutes before the end, Thailand scored a goal thanks to Aukee's header, as a way to make up for Xuan Son's mistake in the second goal.

Basically, Aukee was faster than defender Bui Tien Dung. Goalkeeper Dinh Trieu could have rushed out to punch the ball. But anyway, this was a ray of hope for Thailand and made the second leg more tense.

The first half of the rematch at Rajamangala will be extremely fierce. I think the Vietnamese team will continue to play defensively and rely on Xuan Son to create a breakthrough. The first goal in the return match will be the key.

If Vietnam scores, I believe you will win the championship. If Thailand scores, it will be an opportunity for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team to show their mettle!

Content: Steve Darby

Design: Tuan Huy

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/steve-darby-tuyen-viet-nam-se-choi-phong-ngu-cuoc-tai-dau-se-cuc-ky-khoc-liet-20250104120729617.htm