Xuan Son scores with head, left foot, right foot: Can Thailand stop it?

Xuan Son is too comprehensive

Specifically, Nguyen Xuan Son scored 3 goals with his left foot, 3 goals with his right foot and 1 goal with his head, after only 4 matches in which he was on the field at AFF Cup 2024. Goal scoring rate Nguyen Xuan Son’s score is currently 1.75 goals/match, a very high parameter at the national team level.

Nguyen Xuan Son is called a “goal-scoring monster” by Indonesian media. When the opponent thought Xuan Son would shoot with his right foot, he turned the ball to his left foot to finish. On the contrary, when choosing a position to “cover” Xuan Son’s left-footed shots, he moved the ball to his right foot and then shot.

Even when the opponent defends heavily, trying to block Xuan Son’s finishing situations on the field, he still has another weapon: his ability to head. In the match against Thailand in the final first leg on the evening of January 2, at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho), Xuan Son scored the opening goal for the Vietnamese team, from a header like that. He jumped much higher than the Thai team’s defender, hitting his head very strongly into the net.

Technique, physical strength, body shape (1.86 m), speed are factors that Xuan Son has enough. A striker like this player is almost beyond the level of Southeast Asian football. That is also the problem that has been causing headaches for the Thai team in recent days.

In the first leg of the final, they used a duo of experienced and physically fit central defenders, Pansa Hemviboon (1.90 m) and Chalermsak Aukkee (1.86 m), plus a left full-back with Nicholas Mickelson, a part-European parent (father is Norwegian, mother is Thai) tried to control Nguyen Xuan Son, but failed.

Nicholas Mickelson even had to leave the field quite early, while Chalermsak Aukkee had a situation where he almost “avoided” Xuan Son’s very powerful move in the second goal of the Vietnamese team in the 73rd minute, making Chalermsak Aukkee was criticized.

Currently, Thailand’s coach Masatada Ishii is considering arranging defender midfielder Jonathan Khemdee to play from the start, possibly replacing veteran midfielder Pansa Hemviboon. Thailand wants to take advantage of Khemdee’s youth and body shape (1.90 m) to limit Nguyen Xuan Son’s physical strength. But in addition to physical strength, Xuan Son also has technical skills and dexterity, while Jonathan Khemdee lacks experience in competing in intense international matches, and he is also not flexible in his ability to turn.

It’s too difficult to think about the football team from the land of the golden pagoda. What’s even more difficult to think about for the home team in the second leg of the final is that if they concentrate too many personnel to accompany Xuan Son, they will definitely leave holes in other positions. At that time, Thailand’s defense was in danger from another direction, because the Vietnamese team was not the only one Xuan Son ready to score against Thailand.