AFF Cup: The Thai people called, did the Vietnamese team answer?

Behind the 10-0 victory of the Thai team

Before entering the tournament, the Thai team almost “closed its doors” to the media of the Golden Temple, only allowing reporters to work in the first 15 minutes of the training session, which means only recording videos during the warm-up session. Coach Masatada Ishii affirmed that he did not want his cards to be revealed. In the match against the Timor Leste team, the Japanese strategist continued to express this intention. He did not launch the strongest squad, leaving many pillars such as Khammai, Suphanan, Worachit and Weerathep on the bench. After that, except for goalkeeper Khammai, all three important players were allowed on the field in the second half to get a feel for the competition, preparing for the important confrontation with the Malaysian team in the second match.

On the field, the attacking stars of the Thai team also brought positive signals. Benjamin Davis, Suphanat Muenta, Teerasak each scored a double. Overseas Thai striker Patrik Gustavsson also scored a goal. More importantly, all Thai team players showed extreme desire. Even though the opponent was only Timor Leste and the Thai team was in a leading position, the “War Elephants” stars played without “loosening their feet”, kicking seriously and continuously holding the ball in the middle of the field right after scoring as if they are losing. Suphanat, a key player of the Thai team, shared: “When I have a chance to score, I always want the whole team to continue playing, instead of just scoring and stopping.”

Obviously, the Thai team achieved many things after their crisp 10-0 victory over Timor Leste. The pillars are rested, but still play for enough time to keep up with the tournament. The group of young attacking stars took turns “firing”. And equally important, they conquered the hearts of Thai fans with their devoted, passionate playing style. Thanks to that, Rajamangala Stadium can be filled to capacity in the match against Malaysia, taking place on December 14.

The Vietnamese team must win and win well

Over the past year, the Vietnamese team has fallen into doubt after continuous failures under coach Philippe Troussier. After that, coach Kim Sang-sik took over and had the opening win against the Philippines team, but up to this point, the “Golden Star Warriors” have not yet shown a convincing playing style, having a series of 4 consecutive matches. no wins (excluding practice matches).

Therefore, the Vietnamese team really needs a convincing victory against Laos to regain the trust of fans. Players must also show a spirit of dedication. The veteran group needs to make efforts to dispel the stereotype of “lacking motivation because they are full of titles” and the rookie group needs to show that they are worthy of being called up. For coach Kim Sang-sik, he needs to calculate personnel and tactics to defeat Laos, and at the same time “hide his cards” to surprise the Indonesian team in the next match.

Of course, this will be a big challenge for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team because the Laos team is much more difficult to play than Timor Leste. But in difficult times, the Vietnamese team must show even more courage.