Final second leg unpredictable

What cards will Thailand use to "lock down" Xuan Son and renew the attack?

After the first leg of the final, the Thai team certainly understood striker Nguyen Xuan Son. Thai football expert Boonruang Ratanawichian commented that the reason the Thai team conceded 2 goals was because they overlooked the danger of the main striker of the Vietnamese team.

In the second leg, Thailand will likely have a different arrangement with their defense, with the aim of limiting Xuan Son's range of activity. The muscular center-back Jonathan Khemdee (1.90 m), who was not used in the first leg, may be deployed for the second leg. Khemdee's task may be to stick with the current top star of the Vietnamese team, compete and defend against high balls for the Thai team, against the threat of Xuan Son.

Thái Lan sẽ thay đổi trong trận lượt về — Thailand will change in the second leg

As for the attack, Thailand will use attacking midfielder Supachok Sarachat and striker Suphanat Mueanta more. In the first leg, both players were only brought onto the field in the second half. The reason is that Suphanat Mueanta is not in the best physical condition, having just suffered from a high fever before coming to Vietnam.

As for Supachok Sarachat, coach Masatada Ishii sent this player onto the field a bit late, because in the first leg, he gave more opportunities to attacking midfielder Ekanit Panya, hoping that Ekanit would surprise the Vietnamese team, but failed.

It is worth noting that after the Supachok and Suphanat brothers were used in the first leg, Thailand's ball control was much better, before they had a goal to narrow the gap through Chalermsak Aukkee in the 83rd minute.

Vietnam team 'landed' in Thailand: Xuan Son trained hard, everyone is ready!

Expert Boonruang Ratanawichian also advised that the Thai team needs to calmly keep the ball against the Vietnamese team, and not rush to push up the formation. "Thailand still has the whole second leg ahead of them," Mr. Boonruang Ratanawichian analyzed.

In addition to Jonathan Khemdee, Suphanat Mueanta and Supachok Sarachat, Thailand also has striker Teerasak Poeiphimai who was not used in the first leg. This player has scored 3 goals in this year's AFF Cup. If Thailand needs to focus on the attack, they may add Teerasak Poeiphimai to increase their scoring ability.

The Thai team did not use striker Teerasak Poeiphimai in the first leg, and the Vietnamese team also almost did not use Tien Linh in the match at Viet Tri Stadium on the evening of January 2. The striker, who is playing for Binh Duong Club, only entered the field in a few minutes of extra time at the end of the match, not enough time for him to make a difference.

HLV Kim Sang-sik vẫn còn quân bài để sử dụng trong trận lượt về — Coach Kim Sang-sik still has cards to use in the second leg.

In theory, once Xuan Son is more concerned and more closely marked in the second leg, that will be an opportunity for Tien Linh to take advantage of the gaps created by Xuan Son. Tien Linh himself is also a very good scorer, so if the Thai defense loses their guard against Tien Linh, they will have to pay the same price as they did for not properly assessing Xuan Son's level in the first leg.

In defense, the Vietnamese team did not use goalkeeper Nguyen Filip (1.92 m) and center back Bui Hoang Viet Anh (1.85 m) in the first leg of the final. These are the two players with the best ability to defend against high balls on the Vietnamese team, based on the very good physique of each person.

In theory, in the final minutes of the second leg of the final, if Thailand is still behind, they will switch to "pouring" the ball into our penalty area, in order to shorten the attack time, the Vietnamese team can completely send goalkeeper Nguyen Filip and center back Viet Anh onto the field, with the task of fighting in the air.

Coaches Masatada Ishii and Kim Sang-sik of the Thai and Vietnamese teams both have elements that can both strengthen their teams and disrupt the opponent's play. The remaining issue is how they use the elements they possess, depending on the developments and situation on the field.