The Vietnamese team’s return to the Southeast Asian throne is extremely worthy

BKILL YOURSELF, KNOW PEOPLE

Compared to the first leg of the final, coach Kim Sang-sik only changed one position in Vietnam’s starting lineup in the second leg when Tuan Hai replaced Vi Hao. It was a surprising choice, as Tuan Hai has hardly been used since the beginning of the tournament. He was the “trump card” kept by Mr. Kim until the duel on the evening of January 5. A new player plays first… Laos, is there anything attractive for Mr. Kim to use in the most important match of the tournament? Tuan Hai only needed 8 minutes to provide the answer, when he picked up a good drop from Xuan Son’s header to delicately lift the ball over the head of the Thai goalkeeper to score. Unlike Vi Hao, Tuan Hai is more cunning in his ability to move and shoot. That “monster” quality was shown in exactly one split second, helping the Vietnamese team score a very important opening goal.

In this tournament, coach Kim Sang-sik has shocked many times in personnel selection, but the way coach Kim’s “trump card” created a breakthrough in the most difficult match once again showed that Vietnam has enough options. to fend off the power of the Thai people.

Not only keeping the lineup, the Vietnamese team also brought the same tactics from the first leg to use in the second leg. Faced with Thailand’s onslaught of attacks on Rajamangala Stadium, the Vietnamese team played tight defense. The team’s formation was lower than in the match in Viet Tri, when Hoang Duc and his teammates mainly pressed in the midfield, while prioritizing keeping a narrow distance with the defense spreading horizontally according to the formula 5-4-1 (5). defenders, 4 midfielders, 1 striker). Coach Kim Sang-sik’s students are ready to kick tightly, clear the ball safely and play long balls so that Xuan Son can fight independently.

However, Thailand also proved the class of the team that has won the AFF Cup 7 times. Understanding Vietnam’s playing style, Mr. Masatada Ishii’s student did not flood the squad to press, but focused on the midfield, where Vietnam only had Hoang Duc and Ngoc Tan stretching to support the home team’s 3-man midfield. The terrible pressure at Rajamangala Stadium also made it difficult for the Vietnamese players to develop their playing style. Then, in a situation where the second line had a gap with Ngoc Tan’s error handling, Benjamin Davies took the opportunity to shoot a powerful long-range shot. defeated goalkeeper Dinh Trieu in the 28th minute. The Vietnamese team made a mistake, but must admit that the midfielder wearing the number 13 shirt of Thailand finished too well, drawing a curve that did not give goalkeeper Dinh Trieu a chance to save.

Coach Kim Sang-sik’s team anticipated Thailand’s long-range shooting weapon, but how to focus on stopping it when the opponent is overwhelmingly overwhelmed is a problem.

CSTRONG FIGHT

Xuan Son “carried” Vietnam’s attack from the last match of the group stage until the final with 7 goals in 4 matches. The 27-year-old striker is the soul of the game, as he scores goals, assists, creates walls and develops the game. But like a joke of fate, the Vietnamese team lost Xuan Son in the most difficult match of this year’s tournament. The Brazilian-born player suffered a serious injury in the middle of the first half, forcing Mr. Kim to return to the situation he was in before. It is a test of fate. From that point on, if they can successfully withstand the enormous pressure at Rajamangala, the Vietnamese team will erase the thought of winning the championship thanks to a playing style that depends only on Xuan Son.

The challenge of playing against Thailand without Xuan Son is really… too difficult to swallow, when the opponent no longer has to arrange 2 central defenders at home to accompany Xuan Son, but can push the team to press comprehensively. Dinh Trieu’s goal was constantly threatened, as the Thai players went down the line very quickly. However, Thailand’s goal to increase the score to 2-1 came from their lack of fair play in the middle of the second half. During the ball, the Vietnamese player collapsed on the field due to injury and Thailand should have returned it. Playing the ball in the spirit of sport, Supachok Sarachat swung his leg to kick the ball in front of the surprise of the Vietnamese defense to score. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his students argued fiercely with the Thai team and the referee, because according to the rules, the home team was not wrong, but it was not fair play, when Thailand scored while the Vietnamese team scored. stopped to wait for the ball to be returned.

But football is very fair. With the upper hand after the Thai midfielder’s red card, the Vietnamese team reclaimed what was lost in the final minutes. From a sharp combination in the middle, Quang Hai split the ball for Tuan Hai to place dangerously. The Thai defender rushed to clear the ball, but accidentally scored an own goal, causing the host’s chance to win the championship to slip out of reach.

The Vietnamese team will no longer let any mistakes repeat. Not only that, in the last minutes, Hai Long also took advantage of the time when all Thai players rushed to find an equalizer, scoring from a distance near the middle of the field to seal a 3-2 victory for Vietnam.

The Vietnamese team overcame all adversity, from Xuan Son’s serious injury to his opponent’s bad play, to ascend to the Southeast Asian throne for the third time.

A worthy double for Xuan Son

Striker Nguyen Xuan Son won the double title of Top Scorer and Best Player of AFF Cup 2024. The Brazilian-born striker only participated in 5 matches in this tournament and scored 7 goals. He went down in history when he became the player who scored the most goals for the Vietnamese team in an AFF Cup. Unfortunately, in the final leg of the AFF Cup, the striker born in 1997 suffered a serious injury and had to be hospitalized. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Dinh Trieu was also honored as the Best Goalkeeper of the tournament.

Nghi Thao