AFF Cup: The worry behind the very strange statistics of the Vietnamese team

The Vietnamese team got off to a slow start

The 5-0 victory over Myanmar helped the Vietnamese team reach the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2024 at the top of the group. After 5 matches, Mr. Kim Sang-sik and his team scored 11 goals and conceded 2 goals, becoming the second most “shooting” team in the tournament, only behind Thailand with 18 goals.

In particular, the rain of goals at Viet Tri Stadium on the evening of December 21 against Myanmar helped Nguyen Quang Hai and his teammates relieve the heavy pressure over the past few days. The attack has played more diversely and sharper, but there are still concerns.

That was against Myanmar at Viet Tri Stadium. Even though they won 5-0, the Vietnamese team experienced a deadlock in the first half. Created many scoring situations, in which Xuan Son alone had 4 shots, while Vi Hao and Van Vi both faced the goal. However, the opportunities were unbelievably missed.

The Vietnamese team has not been able to score any goals in the first half of the AFF Cup, whether facing weak or strong opponents. The first half of all four past matches between Mr. Kim and his team ended with a score of 0-0. The whole team just “warmed up” and scored in the second half.

Among the 10 teams participating in the 2024 AFF Cup, there are only 2 teams that did not score in the first half during the group stage, which are Vietnam and the Philippines.

Repair

Although the scores of goals in the last 15 minutes of the match against Laos, Myanmar or the Philippines show that the Vietnamese team has improved its physical strength and fighting spirit, remember: not scoring in the first half is still a point. apart from.

This is a statistic that reflects the habit of starting slowly, difficulty imposing the position, and being secretive in creating opportunities of the team coached by Mr. Kim. And when there are opportunities, the strikers are not sharp enough to take advantage.

Although the Vietnamese team took advantage of the time when their opponents were weak to advance, remember: in the semi-finals, every opponent is very discreet and stubborn. Any mistake can lead to a high price.

Therefore, the whole team needs to make good use of the opportunity they have. Especially when Quang Hai’s semi-final opponent Singapore and his teammates played very well in the first half.

4 of the 7 goals Singapore scored in the group stage took place in the first 45 minutes, including 2 very important goals that helped the lion island team defeat Cambodia (2-1), along with 2 very beautiful goals. to almost create an earthquake before Thailand.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has the “trigger” Xuan Son, but needs more scoring options to penetrate Singapore’s solid defense.