Vietnam team clashes with Thailand: The right time, breaking the fear

(Dan Tri) - Many times the Vietnamese team has encountered psychological problems when facing Thailand. We need to overcome our fear to hope to defeat this opponent. This is the right time for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team.

Haunting every time I meet Thailand

There is a sad statistic about the Vietnamese team when facing Thailand. In 29 previous encounters, the "Golden Star Warriors" only defeated Thailand 3 times. The rest, we drew 8 and lost 18 matches. In which, each victory of the Vietnamese team against this opponent was at least 10 years apart. Those were the victories in the semi-finals of the Tiger Cup 1998 (3-0), the first leg of the AFF Cup 2008 (2-1) and the King's Cup 2019 (1-0).

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The Vietnamese team often had sad memories every time they met Thailand in the past (Photo: Minh Quan).

It must be admitted that many different generations of the Vietnamese team over the past decades have suffered a certain obsession every time they met Thailand. In fact, many times we were "frozen" in front of this opponent. The first generation of Hong Son and Huynh Duc, the Vietnamese team was completely inferior to the "War Elephants" and often suffered heavy defeats. The next generation of Tai Em and Cong Vinh could not narrow the gap even when we defeated this opponent in the 2008 AFF Cup final. It was only when coach Park Hang Seo appeared that the Vietnamese team had a period of slightly surpassing the opponent from the Golden Temple when they were unbeaten in 3 matches in 2019 and did not concede any goals. However, when the Thais rose up, with two consecutive AFF Cup championships in 2020 and 2022, the Vietnamese team returned to a state of helplessness (although the gap had narrowed significantly). In both the 2020 and 2022 AFF Cups, the "Golden Dragons" lost to Thailand in the knockout round. We lost 0-2 on aggregate in the 2020 AFF Cup semi-finals and 2-3 in the 2022 AFF Cup final (when Thailand did not send their strongest squad). Most recently, in a friendly match at home in September 2024, the Vietnamese team also lost 1-2 to Thailand's B squad. It is no coincidence that coach Kim Sang Sik compared Thailand to a "mountain". Because he understood how strong an opponent they would have to face. Coach Masatada Ishii's Golden Temple team came to the 2024 AFF Cup with the strongest possible squad at the moment. Faces like Theerathon Bunmathan (34 years old), Chanathip Songkrasin (31 years old), Sarach Yooyen (32 years old), Teerasil Dangda (36 years old) are all old and on the other side of their careers. The players called up by coach Masatada Ishii to participate in the AFF Cup 2024 are all faces that have been shaped in the new framework of the team (plus a few young players on the rise). The "War Elephants" also showed their bravery and fear in this year's tournament. Just look at how Thailand was led 2-0 by Singapore, then came back to win 4-2 to see that. Or in the semi-final, Thailand was also defeated by the Philippines in the first leg but won in the second leg after 120 minutes of tension.

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Thailand shows its mettle and class at AFF Cup 2024 (Photo: FAT).

Facing such a formidable opponent, it is understandable that coach Kim Sang Sik is cautious. He himself faced Thailand last September. However, this is not the time for us to live in fear of the Thai team. It is time for the Vietnamese team to bury that, to move towards something greater. The whole team is ready to enter the real battle, to dethrone the Southeast Asian champion from the Thai team.

Crush your fears and assert your strength

History has proven that whenever the Vietnamese team is fearless and can outplay the Thai team, we always get good results. In the 1998 Tiger Cup, Thailand was so afraid of the Vietnamese team that they, along with Indonesia, created the "dirtiest" match in the history of the tournament (the two teams did not want to win, so they had to score an own goal). Finally, in the semi-finals, the Vietnamese team made Thailand regret with a 3-0 victory. Or in the 2008 AFF Cup, the Vietnamese team played a resilient counter-attack at Rajamangala to win 2-1 against Thailand. Then, we fought until the last minute in the second leg at My Dinh Stadium and got a late goal from Cong Vinh to win the championship.

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Vietnam team won 1-0 against Thailand at King's Cup 2019 (Photo: VFF).

In 2019, the "Golden Star Warriors" were at their peak under coach Park Hang Seo. We fought with the mentality of not being afraid of any opponent and played on par with the top teams in Asia. Therefore, the 1-0 victory of the Vietnamese team over Thailand in the King's Cup was not surprising. Also in that year, Suphachai got angry and hit Dinh Trong in the 0-4 defeat of Thailand U23 against Vietnam U23 in the qualifying round of the U23 Asian Cup. That detail showed that the Thais were really nervous when facing the Vietnamese teams. It is necessary to recognize the class of Thailand. They quickly built a strong squad after each defeat against the Vietnamese team. Therefore, we did not maintain our position for long when facing this opponent. However, the above evidence shows that as long as the Vietnamese team shows a strong fighting spirit and overcomes the fear of Thailand, we can all make things happen. It is not too much to say that the biggest opponent of the "Golden Dragons" in the two AFF Cup finals is our mentality. "There is no mountain that cannot be overcome", that is the message of coach Kim Sang Sik before the match against Thailand. Just a few days before, the Korean coach affirmed that he would trade his entire career for the AFF Cup championship.

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The Vietnamese team will be very dangerous if they play fearlessly against Thailand (Photo: Tien Tuan).

For over a year now, Vietnamese football has been immersed in the darkness of disappointment. Only the 2024 AFF Cup championship can ignite the fire, creating a boost for the comeback period of the "Golden Dragons". Coach Kim Sang Sik and the players all understand that. Now, they are preparing to enter the ultimate challenge in the tournament.

The time is ripe for the "Golden Dragon"

Compared to the 1-2 loss to Thailand in the Triumvirate in September 2024, the Vietnamese team has changed a lot. At that time, coach Kim Sang Sik had just taken over the team and managed to build a framework. However, through the journey at the AFF Cup 2024, the Vietnamese team has become much more stable. The framework of the "Golden Dragons" gradually took shape, with a clearer playing style. Most importantly, coach Kim Sang Sik found the most important piece, which is Nguyen Xuan Son. The Brazilian striker only needed 3 matches to show his class when he scored 5 goals and rose to the top of the AFF Cup's top scorer list. Rarely has a player created a "shock" across Southeast Asia like Xuan Son.

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Xuan Son helps the strength of the Vietnamese team improve significantly (Photo: Thanh Dong).

The most difficult question for each team right now is how to "kill" Xuan Son? Singapore was confident of doing that, but unfortunately, they are not classy enough to silence the 27-year-old striker. The team in the lion island even used the measure of using two players to "sandwich" Xuan Son but was still helpless. The appearance of Xuan Son helped coach Kim Sang Sik solve many problems. The Vietnamese team not only possesses a top striker, but also has the ability to link each separate detail into a good collective. Many players such as Hoang Duc and Tien Linh have played better thanks to the benefit of the Xuan Son effect. Compared to Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand has a more classy defense. They own Jonathan Khemdee with a height of 1.9m and was trained in Denmark. Besides, Pansa Hemviboon (1.91m) or Chalermsak Aukkee (1.86m) both possess good physique. Chalermsak Aukkee even asserted that Jonathan Khemdee is stronger than Xuan Son. However, in reality, Thailand's defense in this tournament is not really strong. They have conceded 7 goals since the beginning of the tournament. Of which, the Philippines has scored 3 goals against this team. That shows that Xuan Son can completely exploit the loopholes. Playing at Viet Tri Stadium also brings good luck to the Vietnamese team. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team has won all matches at this stadium since the beginning of the tournament. If we look further, all Vietnamese teams have maintained an unbeaten record when playing on their homeland ( Phu Tho ). The Vietnamese team is holding many advantages to win against Thailand. We need to take advantage of the fact that our opponents have just been exhausted after 120 minutes of playing against the Philippines to win in the first leg of the final, to create an advantage before the rematch in Bangkok on January 5. Heaven, earth, and people are all in the hands of the Vietnamese team. As long as coach Kim Sang Sik's team "throws away" the fear of facing Thailand and fights with the highest spirit, we can completely hope for victory.