AFF Cup 2024 Singapore Semi-Final First Leg

Q WIN

The Vietnamese team has been unbeaten for 25 years against Singapore in all competitions (6 wins, 8 draws). Having gone through many ups and downs in the Southeast Asian arena, Vietnamese football has never feared Singapore at the national team or club level. However, that does not mean that coach Kim Sang-sik's team will easily defeat Singapore in the match taking place at Jalan Besar Stadium in the first leg of the AFF Cup 2024 semi-finals.

Vietnam team ready to defeat Singapore

Because in the last 6 times defeating Singapore, there were 5 matches where the Vietnamese team only won by a 1-goal margin. The only match where Vietnam defeated Singapore by more than 1 goal was a friendly match in September 2022, when Coach Park Hang-seo's team won 4-0. But 3 months later, Vietnam was held to a 0-0 draw by Singapore at Jalan Besar Stadium, in a match where Coach Park's team had the ball dominantly, but created very few scoring opportunities.

During the period when Singaporean football was on the decline, the spirit of enthusiastic competition became the beacon that guided coach Tsutomu Ogura and his team. "The Vietnamese team is very strong, but we only focus on our performance. The players are very confident, in good health and spirit," Mr. Ogura shared.

Jalan Besar Stadium

Despite struggling to get through the group stage, the Singapore team showed some bright spots, namely the seemingly old-fashioned but very effective deep-lying defense strategy of coach Ogura. However, this is not the first time the Vietnamese team has faced opponents with tight defense. In the group stage, coach Kim Sang-sik broke Indonesia's defense thanks to a "punch" from the second line named Quang Hai. To beat teams that play tactically and emphasize team spirit, Mr. Kim's students need surprise attacks.

"K HOI R UBIK " BY TEACHER K IM

Coach Kim Sang-sik has rotated a diverse "Rubik's cube" in the group stage, with the lineup constantly changing with each match. The Korean strategist is not afraid to rotate, even in positions that require high stability such as goalkeeper and center back. Thanks to that, the Vietnamese team not only maintains a good physical foundation, but also hides many tactical pieces that Mr. Kim will fully deploy in the semi-finals.

There are still resources that the Vietnamese team has not fully exploited, which are set pieces, which only brought 1 goal in the group stage. Set pieces and direct free kicks used to be a mine of goals for Vietnam, but now need to be fully utilized when Mr. Kim has good free kick takers like Quang Hai, Hoang Duc... and spearhead Xuan Son. Besides that, the ability to support the attack of the defense, which actually has not appeared much when the central defenders are purely defending in their own half. However, against opponents who are likely to defend in large numbers, the Vietnamese central defenders suddenly rushing up to "join the battle" can become a solution worth considering.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Filip will likely return, alongside the central defender trio Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, and Tien Dung. In the midfield, Hoang Duc, Ngoc Tan, and Quang Hai are likely to start, while the two wings could include Van Vi and Tien Anh. In the attack, the "double-barreled gun" Xuan Son and Tien Linh have the opportunity to start together. This is the optimal force at the moment, capable of bringing victory to the Vietnamese team.

"Hopefully we will have a good result against Singapore"

Coach Kim Sang-sik confidently said: "We are ready to fight and win. Singapore is a strong team. My colleagues and I have watched them play live on the field and on television. We have also dissected and analyzed Singapore through two meetings. The coaching staff and players have discussed tactics during the match, including when to apply high pressure. Everyone is ready. We will also have an official training session to complete all stages before entering the match. On the opponent's side, I pay attention to Anuar, the player leading the scoring list in this AFF Cup. I have analyzed this player quite a lot, from moving to finishing. Singapore itself also has other formidable attacking options. I told myself to be careful against Singapore. Hopefully we will have a good result against this opponent tomorrow (December 26 - PV)".

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ban-ket-luot-di-aff-cup-2024-singapore-viet-nam-quyet-mang-chien-thang-tro-ve-185241225213700859.htm