The Vietnamese team will be able to do what Mr. Park couldn’t do at the time, if…

The Vietnamese team defeated Indonesia with a score of 1-0, in the match that took place on the evening of December 15 at Viet Tri Stadium. 3 full points against the most formidable opponent in the table helps coach Kim Sang-sik and his team maintain a winning record. With 6 points, Vietnam tops Group B AFF Cup 2024, 2 points ahead of second-place team Indonesia (playing less than 1 match).

If they win at least 3 points in the last 2 matches of the group stage, Quang Hai and his teammates will definitely enter the semi-finals with first place.

However, the Vietnamese team can also break another problem that has existed for the past 6 years, which is never winning the third match in the AFF Cup group stage.

Specifically, under coach Park Hang-seo, although the Vietnamese team was undefeated in 3 group stages for 3 consecutive periods (2018, 2020 and 2022), the team always drew 0-0 in the third match. In 2018, Vietnam drew away from home with Myanmar. In 2020, there was a draw with Indonesia at neutral stadium Bishan in Singapore. And at the AFF Cup 2022, there will be a draw with Singapore away from home.

Always drawing a draw in the third group stage match means the Vietnamese team has never won 3 consecutive group stage matches over the past 8 years.

Looking more broadly, in the last two decades of the AFF Cup, the Vietnamese team has only once had a winning record in the group stage. That was the AFF Cup 2016, when the team led by coach Nguyen Huu Thang won all 3 matches against Myanmar (2-1), Malaysia (1-0) and Cambodia (2-1) to take first place with 9 points. In the remaining group stages, the Vietnamese team all had at least 1 draw in the group stage.

If they defeat the Philippines at Rizal Memorial Stadium on December 18, the Vietnamese team will draw the third match in the AFF Cup group stage since 2018. At the same time, 3 points will help coach Kim Sang-sik and his team definitely enter the semi-finals with first place 1 match early, thus “lightening their heads” for the final match with Myanmar..

The Vietnamese team won the Philippines in all 5 recent encounters, scoring 12 goals and conceding 5 goals. At the opponent’s Rizal Memorial Stadium alone, Quang Hai and his teammates also won both of their most recent away trips. While the Vietnamese team won all 6 points in 2 matches, the Philippines only had 2 points after 2 matches (draw with Myanmar and Laos), and is at risk of being eliminated.