AFF Cup: Viet Tri’s field is beautiful, can the Vietnamese team play beautifully?

The problem of the Vietnamese team

The idea of ​​​​playing football and the quality of passes are minus points of the Vietnamese team in the victory over Laos in the opening match of AFF Cup 2024. Despite scoring 4 goals against Laos after 19 shots, coach Kim Sang’s students -sik couldn’t coordinate well and stay cohesive against the weakest opponent in the group, especially in the first half.

Although coach Kim Sang-sik arranged three central midfielders with the intention of controlling the game, the Vietnamese team could not deploy a coherent attack. Many short passes were broken, the play was also spontaneous, mainly relying on long balls. Short bursts to direct the ball upward appeared very rarely, although Laos did not apply significant pressure.

Besides lacking ideas for playing football, the Vietnamese team also lacks accuracy in passing the ball, whether short or long. According to statistics, the Vietnamese team only achieved a passing accuracy rate of only 73% in the first half. Many long passes went to the wrong address, mainly coming from the center back, central midfielder and wingback pair. . In the second half, the whole team gradually found their rhythm, had smoother and sharper coordination to score goals.

One of the factors mentioned by coach Kim Sang-sik and his students is the quality of the field. On the patchy, rough grass surface of the Laos national stadium, it is not simple to pass the ball accurately. In many situations during the match, disputes and collisions between players even cause… patches of grass to be torn up.

“The problem in the first half was just that the handling of the Vietnamese team was not good, with the grass conditions of the Laos national stadium not being good,” coach Kim Sang-sik commented.

One player also said that the bad field surface made it difficult for the whole team to coordinate and accelerate well as usual. Judging the ball’s drop point and roll on an uneven field surface is also not simple. That caused the whole team to play more long balls and high balls to shorten the time to reach the goal.

However, when welcoming Indonesia at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho province) on December 15 in the second match at AFF Cup 2024, the field surface will no longer be the reason to explain the unconvincing play.

Needs coherent gameplay

The Vietnamese team does not necessarily have to play short, sharp football in the epic match with Indonesia. The only goal of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team is victory. Defeat your opponents, get 3 points and have an advantage in the race for the top spot.

The Vietnamese team needs to cut their 3-match losing streak against Indonesia (although they will only meet the opponent’s U.21 team soon) to create psychological fulcrum for the coming period.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his students can play in many ways. Control the ball, pressure Indonesia and score, or counter-attack, or play firmly and tightly, then wait for the opportunity to strike… like the fighting method of Coach Park Hang-seo’s time.

However, no matter what strategy they play, the Vietnamese team also needs a coherent style of play, with intentions and lines in each situation. Every pass or run must have a tactical intention and a clear direction. The ball cannot be passed aimlessly and irresponsibly like in the match against Laos.

Meeting a young and tough team like Indonesia, the Vietnamese team needs to gain experience to overcome it. The opponent is “hot”, we have to be “cold”.

Controlling the pace of play, mastering the situation whether playing attack or defense… is the beautiful way the Vietnamese team needs to play on a beautiful field, in front of more than 20,000 spectators in Vietnam. Tri on December 15.