Vietnam scores a lot of goals, waiting for the central defenders to score: Why not?

Diverse scoring methods for Vietnam

With 13 goals scored at AFF Cup 2024, the Vietnamese team is the second highest scoring team at this year’s tournament, counting after the first leg of the semi-finals. The team’s scoring record under coach Kim Sang-sik is currently only less than defending champion Thailand (19 goals).

The next notable thing is that the Vietnamese team scored from all directions, scoring situations were very diverse. Coach Kim Sang-sik’s team had goals scored with their heads (Doan Ngoc Tan scored in the match against the Philippines in the group stage), and goals from fixed situations (Doan Ngoc Tan scored after kicking corner kick in the match against the Philippines, Nguyen Tien Linh successfully kicked a penalty kick in the match against Singapore), there were stretches of the line then crossed into the middle for the players inside to finish, coordinated with the group to bounce off the wall in the middle. , scoring passes, and long-range shooting situations…

Those who scored goals from long shots for the Vietnamese team were Quang Hai in the 5-0 win over Myanmar in the group stage and Van Vi in the 4-1 win over Laos also in the group stage.

Except for the goalkeeper, all different lines of the Vietnamese team have players scoring goals for the home team. In the back row, left back Van Vi was the one who scored for the Vietnamese team. In the midfield, we have Quang Hai (2 goals), Hai Long, and Doan Ngoc Tan who have conceded the opponent’s goal in this year’s tournament.

As for the strikers, Tien Linh, Xuan Son (3 goals each), Van Toan and Vi Hao are the strikers who have scored goals. Particularly Tien Linh and Xuan Son are approaching the title of top scorer of this year’s AFF Cup.

Waiting for the midfielders to shine at the decisive moment

Only the central defenders have not scored yet. This comes from a number of reasons. First, the midfielder with the best ability to participate in the attack of the current Vietnamese team, Viet Anh, has not played much. This player only played once at the AFF Cup 2024, but was replaced quite early when the Vietnamese team faced the Philippines in the group stage.

Second, because the methods of scoring goals are still very diverse, the Vietnamese team has not focused on exploiting situations where centre-backs participate in attacks and headers, in fixed plays.

We cannot rule out the possibility that in the final matches of the AFF Cup 2024, when the nature of the matches becomes more and more tense, when the teams understand each other better and compete more closely, we will gradually Gradually use this “goal hunting” method. Also in theory, midfielder Viet Anh’s chances of playing in the coming matches will be higher, when coach Kim Sang-sik needs more people to “fill” the gaps in the Vietnamese team’s defense. , when a player in this area receives a penalty card or has a physical decline.

In some ways, this is also the “secret weapon” of the Vietnamese team at the final stage of the tournament. We will focus on exploiting the plays where the central defenders join the attack, catch passes from teammates from fixed situations, and then score goals. In this style of play, not only Viet Anh, Bui Tien Dung is also a central defender who is not bad at heading goals.

Coach Kim Sang-sik’s team is more diverse in its ability to approach the opponent’s goal, the more unpredictable the opponents are. At the right time, the Vietnamese team may use the appropriate attack method, leaving opponents unable to react in time.