The shield of the Vietnamese team is 'better' than Indonesia's, for these reasons...

The defense of the Vietnamese team is very even and solid.

The Vietnamese team brought a total of 10 defenders to the AFF Cup 2024, including Do Duy Manh (28 years old), Vu Van Thanh (28 years old), Bui Tien Dung (29 years old), Ho Tan Tai (27 years old), Nguyen Thanh Binh (24 years old), Nguyen Thanh Chung (27 years old), Bui Hoang Viet Anh (25 years old), Pham Xuan Manh (28 years old), Truong Tien Anh (25 years old) and Nguyen Van Vi (26 years old).

All of the defenders mentioned above are at the prime of their professional football careers. Players at this age are still in good shape and full of experience. Also in the defense of the Vietnam national team, except for Nguyen Van Vi who was called up to the national team for the first time, Truong Tien Anh is still relatively unfamiliar to most domestic football fans, the remaining players are very familiar with the domestic football scene.

Captain Do Duy Manh has 58 caps for the national team. He is the player with the third most caps for the Vietnamese team in this year's tournament, after midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai (65 caps) and striker Nguyen Van Toan (64 caps).

Tấm khiên chắn của đội tuyển Việt Nam ‘xịn’ hơn Indonesia, vì những lý do này…- Ảnh 1. — Van Thanh (left)

Also in this line of defenders, Vu Van Thanh has 52 appearances for the national team, Bui Tien Dung has 50 appearances for the national team, Ho Tan Tai has 26 appearances. Players Nguyen Thanh Binh and Nguyen Thanh Chung have 24 appearances each, Bui Hoang Viet Anh has 22 appearances. The number of appearances for the national team of Pham Xuan Manh is 14.

Bui Tien Dung has participated in 4 AFF Cups 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. Vu Van Thanh has participated in the AFF Cup 3 times, in 2016, 2020 and 2022. Do Duy Manh participated in the AFF Cup 2018, 2020 and 2022. In terms of achievements, captain Do Duy Manh and center back Bui Tien Dung each won the AFF Cup 2018.

Players Ho Tan Tai, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Nguyen Thanh Chung and Nguyen Thanh Binh have participated in the AFF Cup twice, in 2020 and 2022. Pham Xuan Manh has participated in the AFF Cup once, in 2020.

The defenses of Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar and Laos are quite young.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s opponents do not have such a solid defense. The Philippines have center back Amani Aguinaldo (29 years old, 63 times capped for the national team). However, none of their other defenders in this year’s tournament have reached the milestone of 20 times capped for the Philippines.

For the Myanmar national team, the oldest defender in their squad is Nanda Kyaw (28 years old). He is also the one with the most appearances for the national team (49 times). Below Nanda Kyaw is defender Hein Phyo Win (26 years old), who has 36 appearances for the Myanmar national team. Next is center back Soe Moe Kyaw (25 years old), who has 25 appearances for the national team. However, the remaining defenders of Myanmar are quite inexperienced, none of whom has played for the national team 20 times or more.

Tấm khiên chắn của đội tuyển Việt Nam ‘xịn’ hơn Indonesia, vì những lý do này…- Ảnh 2. — Ho Tan Tai

With the two teams Indonesia and Laos, they used a very young force at the AFF Cup 2024. Of the 8 defenders of the Laos team participating in this year's Southeast Asian championship, the oldest is Somsavath Phomsopha (27 years old), but he has only played for the Laos team twice. The player who has played for the team of the Land of a Million Elephants the most times is Anantaza Siphongphan, with 18 appearances. But Anantaza Siphongphan is only 20 years old.

As for Indonesia, only 3/10 defenders participating in the AFF Cup 2024 have played for the national team. Pratama Arhan (22 years old) is the one who has played for the Indonesian national team the most times, with 50 appearances. Next is full-back Asnawi Mangkualam (25 years old), who has played for the national team 46 times. Next is Muhammad Ferarri (21 years old), who has only played 4 times. Of the remaining 7 defenders of the Indonesian national team, none have experience playing for the national team.

In addition, no defenders from the Indonesian, Philippine, Myanmar and Lao teams have experience winning the AFF Cup like central defenders Do Duy Manh and Bui Tien Dung in the Vietnamese team.

The defense is not a place for teams to take risks. Experience is a very important factor for players playing in this area. In terms of experience, the defense of the Vietnamese team is at the top of Group B of the AFF Cup 2024.