The Vietnam - Japan and Vietnam - Indonesia matches are among the six most attractive matches in the 2023 Asian Cup group stage, according to voting by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Main developments in Vietnam's 2-4 loss to Japan
The match Vietnam lost to Japan 2-4 took place on January 14 in the first round with the most goals scored in the group stage, besides the match Korea drew with Malaysia 1-3.
AFC assessed: "The match is of interest, because Philippe Troussier - the coach who led Japan to win the 2000 Asian Cup - met his old team for the first time since parting ways after the 2002 World Cup. He and Vietnam made one of the The championship candidates must be absolutely terrified in the first match of Group D.
Pham Tuan Hai (right) celebrates the goal to increase the score to 2-1 for Vietnam in the 2-4 loss to Japan, in the opening match of Group D Asian Cup 2023. Photo: Lam Thoa
Takumi Minamino opened the score for Japan in the 11th minute, but Vietnam reversed the situation, leading 2-1 thanks to Nguyen Dinh Bac's reverse header and Pham Tuan Hai's close-range assist. However, two technical shots from Minamino and Keito Nakamura helped Japan regain the lead as the first half ended. In the second half, Japan did not give Vietnam a chance to reach the goal, before Ayase Ueda fixed the score in the 85th minute with a kick in the penalty area.
Both teams received compliments after the match from international media and fans. Vietnam takes advantage of the ability to hold the ball to limit the opponent's attack power. Meanwhile, Japan showed composure despite being ahead, not panicking, but controlling the game to come back.
However, coach Troussier and his team received a lot of criticism when they lost 0-1 to Indonesia in the second match - the match was also selected by AFC as one of the most attractive in the group stage. This is a rare match between two Southeast Asian representatives since the 1972 Asian Cup. Both want to win to show their position in the region and have a chance to pass the group stage.
Indonesia dominated the first half. The turning point came in the 39th minute when Nguyen Thanh Binh committed a foul on pulling Rafael Struick's shirt in the penalty area, leading to a penalty. On the 11 meter mark, Asnawi Mangkualam defeated Nguyen Filip to score the only goal in the match. “Shin Tae-yong and his students achieved an important victory”, article by AFC there is a paragraph. “Continuous progress has created a new breakthrough for Indonesia.”
Despite losing 1-3 to Japan in the final match, Indonesia still qualified for the Asian Cup group stage for the first time after Oman was held to a 1-1 draw by Kyrgyzstan in Group F. Meanwhile, Vietnam stopped early and closed out the group stage. with a dramatic 2-3 loss to Iraq.
Group D also has Iraq's 2-1 win over Japan selected for the list, which is considered a seismic event in the tournament.
The remaining three attractive matches voted by AFC are Saudi Arabia defeating Oman 2-1 in overtime in Group F, rookie Tajikistan defeating Lebanon 2-1 in Group A, and Korea being held to a 3-3 draw by Malaysia in Group A. E.
Hieu Luong – Vnexpress.net
