The "towers" of Cambodia
What should the Vietnamese team pay attention to in tonight's friendly match? Unlike before, the physique of the Cambodian players has improved significantly, and the area with the most physically strong players on the team coached by Koji Gyotoku (from Japan) is the defense.
Cambodian national team center-back Kan Mo (front row, third from the right) has a very good physique.
Photo: NGOC LINH
Cambodia boasts a pair of physically strong central defenders: Kan Mo (1.84 m, of South African origin) and Takaki Ose (1.83 m, of Japanese origin). Behind them, goalkeeper Vireak Dara (1.86 m) also has a physical advantage. With this defense, dealing with aerial balls is no longer a concern for the Cambodian national team.
That's why, at the 2024 AFF Cup, the Cambodian team was able to deflect most of Cambodia's aerial balls into their penalty area, from two of Southeast Asia's most renowned aerial teams: Malaysia (2-2 draw) and Singapore (narrow 1-2 loss).
In the match against Singapore, although Cambodia lost, their goals conceded were due to misplaced passes by goalkeeper Vireak Dara, not because of poor tackling.
Besides their excellent aerial ball-handling skills, the Cambodian national team's center-backs are currently very strong in one-on-one challenges. In particular, the African-born center-back Kan Mo is virtually unafraid of any Southeast Asian player in physical confrontations. Kan Mo himself regretted not having the opportunity to face the Vietnamese national team's striker, Nguyen Xuan Son, who possesses the best physical strength, build, and tackling ability, in tonight's match (March 19th) at Binh Duong Stadium.
Therefore, Kan Mo and his teammate Takaki Ose will pose a significant challenge to the remaining strikers on coach Kim Sang-sik's team.
We await the calculations of coach Kim Sang-sik and the Vietnamese national team.
The Vietnamese national team's forward line currently consists of four players: Nguyen Tien Linh, Bui Vi Hao, Pham Tuan Hai, and Dinh Thanh Binh. Of these, two are physically strong and aggressive forwards (Thanh Binh and Tuan Hai), while Tien Linh and Vi Hao are technically gifted.
The Vietnamese home team's strikers Tien Linh (22) and Vi Hao (15) are expected to shine.
Photo: KHA HOA
Coach Kim Sang-sik has not yet revealed his intentions regarding which of these forwards he will use in the Vietnamese national team's attack for the match against Cambodia at Binh Duong Stadium. However, it cannot be ruled out that the South Korean coach will rotate the aforementioned players at different points in the match, using the appropriate personnel at the right time.
Former VFF Vice President for Professional Affairs, Duong Vu Lam, commented: "Theoretically, without Xuan Son, Tien Linh is the best striker for the Vietnamese national team. But the Cambodian team will certainly study Tien Linh. It's even possible they will play aggressively to intimidate Tien Linh and our technically gifted players. Therefore, coach Kim Sang-sik must have a specific plan for when to use Tien Linh, how to position the players around him, and when he is neutralized."
This detail can be observed in some matches at the AFF Cup 2024. In one match, coach Kim Sang-sik used Dinh Thanh Binh from the start, taking advantage of the player's physical strength and aggressive playing style to wear down the opponent's defense. Only later did he bring on Tien Linh or Vi Hao when the opponent was tired and lost focus due to exhaustion.
We believe that coach Kim Sang-sik is skilled and experienced enough to know what to do to understand the Cambodian team's intentions, neutralize their playing style, before helping the Vietnamese strikers showcase their best abilities.
Good news for viewers: in addition toFPT Play, VTV2 will also broadcast live the friendly match between the Vietnamese and Cambodian national teams at 7:30 PM today at Binh Duong Stadium.
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