* PRE-MATCH COMMENTARY
This is the second match and also the last match in the team’s tour to China led by coach Troussier at FIFA Days in October. This match will serve the professional work of the coaching staff. Train the Vietnamese and Uzbekistan teams. Therefore, the two teams will play in private without the audience watching, without the press and without live broadcast.
Coach Troussier will continue to conduct experiments in closed matches with the Uzbekistan team
The match against the Uzbekistan team will be an opportunity for coach Troussier to continue implementing experimental ideas in terms of personnel and tactics. The key players and players who played in the match against host China may be able to recover. Meanwhile, young players, players who are new to the team for the first time, or have not had a chance to play in the previous match will likely be tested. The encounter with Uzbekistan is also considered the final rehearsal so Coach Troussier can complete the evaluation of each individual. From there, the French coach will find the most optimal lineup and finalize the match before moving to Korea to face Son Heung-min and the stars of the land of kimchi on October 17.
The Uzbekistan team is in the top 10 Asian football teams, ranked 75th on the FIFA rankings (20 places higher than the Vietnamese team). This is an extremely quality opponent for coach Troussier’s team. Regarding confrontation records, Vietnam has never won against Uzbekistan at any team level. The Vietnamese team faced Uzbekistan twice in the Asian Cup qualifiers and lost both times, with scores of 1-3 and 0-3 respectively. The most unforgettable defeat was in the 2018 Asian U.23 final in Changzhou (China), when the generation of talented players of U.23 Vietnam with Quang Hai, Cong Phuong, Van Toan… under the guidance Coach Park Hang-seo’s leadership only won runner-up position when losing to U.23 Uzbekistan.

Quang Hai (19) has unforgettable memories against Uzbekistan
The current squad of the Uzbekistan team has stars playing in top European tournaments. Captain striker Eldor Shomurodov is considered the leader of the Central Asian team. He used to play for Genoa Club, AS Roma, Spezia and currently plays for Cagliari Club in Serie A, Italy. This is one of the best scorers in the history of the Uzbekistan team with 37 goals in 67 appearances.