Tien Linh, Vi Hao and who else?

Difficult case of Vietnam team

The AFF Cup is not a playground "scarce" of goals for the Vietnamese team. In 2018, Coach Park Hang-seo's team won the championship with 15 goals after 8 matches (an average of 1.87 goals/match). In 2021, despite being eliminated in the semi-finals, Tien Linh and his teammates still scored 9 goals after 6 matches, an efficiency of 1.5 goals/match.

By 2022, the number of goals was 16 after 8 matches. In the group stage, the whole team scored 12 goals and did not concede. That was absolute domination.

However, in matches against direct competitors at the AFF Cup 2024 such as Thailand or Indonesia, the scoring efficiency of the Vietnamese team brings great concern.

Tien Linh scores consistently

In the last 3 matches against Indonesia, the team coached by Philippe Troussier lost all and did not score any goals. In the last 7 matches against Thailand in all competitions, the Vietnamese team only scored 3 goals, in which 5 matches they failed to find the net.

The above statistics show that the Vietnamese team only scores effectively against teams that are not strong in defense, weak in competition and have loose playing style such as Myanmar, Philippines, and Malaysia.

Against teams with good physical strength, good defensive organization (Indonesia) or effective ball control (Thailand), the road to goal becomes more difficult.

At the end of coach Kim Sang-sik's time, the Vietnamese team had the problem of lacking good strikers. The attack organization was no longer full of ideas, mainly focusing on exploiting the opponent's mistakes to organize a quick attack, or waiting for Nguyen Tien Linh's scoring chance.

When coach Troussier took over, the Vietnamese team held the ball more, pushed the formation higher, but had difficulty "output": when reaching the opponent's field, the players had no coordination, and could not open up space to score.

When coach Kim Sang-sik took over, the attacking strategy changed. The Vietnamese team played faster and more directly. They did not control the ball much, but focused on the quality of their passes.

Players are required to play fast, no frills

The ball can be passed quickly from the defense to the forwards (like the way Que Ngoc Hai created a pass for Tien Linh to score against Thailand), the attacking strategy focuses on speed: approaching the penalty area as quickly as possible, all positions on the field have the opportunity to advance, and the team rotates continuously.

However, contrary to a good start (3 goals against the Philippines and Iraq), the Vietnamese team only scored 2 goals in the last 3 matches, in which no match scored more than 1 goal. Mr. Kim's changes were not enough to completely revive a team that was tied down by inertia.

Coach Kim Sang-sik needs more 'cannons'

5 goals under coach Kim Sang-sik were shared between Tien Linh (3 goals), Tuan Hai (1 goal) and Vi Hao (1 goal).

It is easy to see that Mr. Kim still has faith in Tien Linh. The player born in 1997 is a pure striker, with the ability to make walls and run to attract people, a rare trait of the Vietnamese team at the moment. Tien Linh's finishing skills have improved, as evidenced by 4 goals after the first 4 rounds of V-League 2024 - 2025. If "pumped" regularly, the 27-year-old striker can ensure the number of goals.

However, we cannot rely solely on Tien Linh. In the 2024 AFF Cup, the striker wearing the number 22 shirt scored 6 goals when becoming the main force in the attacks. However, when Tien Linh was locked down, the Vietnamese team lost because there was no reserve source of goals.

Vi Hao (number 13) is improving

Mr. Kim's invention named Bui Vi Hao has brought a breath of fresh air in recent matches. The 21-year-old striker scored a double in the internal match against Nam Dinh Club, and also scored another goal against India. If he continues to perform well in the V-League and the training trip to Korea, Vi Hao can go from "supporting actor" to "main actor".

But putting the responsibility of scoring on one or two specific players is a risky choice. Coach Kim Sang-sik needs goals from other positions, such as defense or midfield.

The Vietnamese team has players with "golden" goals like Bui Hoang Viet Anh and Nguyen Thanh Chung to fully exploit set pieces. Or in midfield, Nguyen Quang Hai and Chau Ngoc Quang had dangerous runs into the penalty area to finish in the match against India.

As for Quang Hai, although he could not score after 3 shots, the fact that the midfielder of the Hanoi Police team was given the opportunity to become an "output" in the attack is a suggestion for the Vietnamese team to build tactics for the AFF Cup.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-san-ban-thang-tien-linh-vi-hao-va-ai-nua-18524101813150231.htm