Expert: "Xuan Son is injured, great pressure is placed on Tien Linh's shoulders"

There is a very notable detail, that is in 2017, Mr. Duong Vu Lam was the head of the Vietnamese team that played the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying match against Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The head coach of the Vietnamese team at that time was Mr. Mai Duc Chung.

Mr. Chung took on this task as an interim coach and Mr. Chung immediately asked VFF to invite Mr. Lam to be the head of the national team.

In this match, the Vietnamese team won on the opponent's field, but that was also the time when Mr. Duong Vu Lam realized that Cambodian football had begun to make clear progress compared to their previous self. Before the Vietnamese team meets Cambodia again at 7:30 p.m. tonight (March 19) in Binh Duong, Mr. Duong Vu Lam talked with Dan Tri reporter.

Cambodia team is no longer a "bottom line"

How do you evaluate the strength of Cambodian football and the Cambodian national team at this time?

- Their football has generally improved a lot compared to a few years ago. Their pitches are better, the Cambodian national championship is better. This tournament has foreign players and many of them are naturalized and play for the Cambodian national team.

Chuyên gia: — Coach Koji Gyotoku of the Cambodian team revealed that his team wants to defeat the Vietnamese team (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

I think the results that the Cambodian team achieved at the AFF Cup 2024 show the progress of Cambodian football, show the progress of this country's team. They drew 2-2 with Malaysia, only losing narrowly to Singapore 1-2.

This is not a random result, but it reflects that Cambodian football is narrowing the gap with the leading football teams in Southeast Asia.

So what is the gap between the Cambodian team and the Vietnamese team now, sir?

- We are still stronger than them. However, in the past, when the Vietnamese team met the Cambodian team, it was not difficult to predict that the Vietnamese team would win big. Now, the Vietnamese team will also win against the team from the land of pagodas, but the difference of this victory is not too big. It is also difficult for us to win against them as quickly as before.

It is likely that the Cambodian team will cause difficulties for the Vietnamese team in the early stages of the match, when the Cambodian players' physical strength is still abundant and their excitement is still high.

Among the strikers currently on the national team, besides Tien Linh, I highly appreciate young player Bui Vi Hao. He has many good qualities, such as a good physique (1m81), good technique, and high speed. Matches like this will be an opportunity for him to improve. There is a possibility that he will play alongside Tien Linh when Xuan Son is injured. In theory, Vi Hao and Tien Linh are compatible with each other, because they both wear the same Binh Duong Club shirt.

After this period of time, the Vietnamese team will gradually control the game and score against the Cambodian team. This is the difference in class between the two football teams. Cambodian football has progressed, but not to the point of catching up with the level of Vietnamese football.

Opponents will pay special attention to Tien Linh.

As for the specific playing style on the field, what do you think the Cambodian team will do to make it difficult for the Vietnamese team?

- First, I think Cambodia has abandoned the "hard-hitting" style of play like a few years ago. This team is now playing more smoothly, their players, especially the group of naturalized players, control the ball better, thereby opening up coordination for the whole team.

However, when playing against a stronger team like Vietnam, Cambodia will still play fiercely in the back line. They will likely compete fiercely every time Tien Linh has the ball, because they have certainly guessed that Tien Linh is the player who receives the most balls in the attack of the Vietnam team, after Xuan Son was injured.

The Vietnamese team needs to anticipate this possibility and have backup plans, plans to help the satellites around Tien Linh play better, if the striker currently playing for Binh Duong Club is locked down and put under pressure.

But will this match also be an opportunity for the Vietnamese team to test new attacking options without Xuan Son?

- That is also one of the reasons why the Vietnamese team chose Cambodia as their opponent for a friendly match during this period. Firstly, Cambodia has a level similar to that of the Laos team that we will compete with in a few days, in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Second, Cambodia is weaker than Vietnam. Playing against a weaker opponent, coach Kim Sang Sik's team will have the opportunity to assemble a squad and organize more attacks. From there, we will find a new formula for the attack in this period.

Opportunity for rookies

As for the new recruits of the Vietnam team, do you think they will have the opportunity to play?

- I think coach Kim Sang Sik will try out some new positions. The match against Cambodia is a friendly match. Usually in friendly matches, coaches will try out some new positions to prepare for the official match right after.

I think the new players of the Vietnam team will not have much problem when facing the Cambodian players. The players in the current Vietnam team, from the old to the new, are all playing regularly in the V-League.

These players have faced foreign players in the V-League, and foreign players in the V-League are certainly of higher quality than the naturalized players playing for the Cambodian national team.

In my opinion, we will win against the team from the land of pagodas, but this is not a big win. Moreover, this is just a friendly match, we do not necessarily have to win too big.

In the match against Cambodia, goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu may not play officially. If Dinh Trieu does not play, will the Vietnamese team be weaker?

- Dinh Trieu is a good goalkeeper with a lot of experience in competition, as evidenced by the fact that he received the award for best goalkeeper of the AFF Cup 2024. However, if he is still injured and cannot play in the match against Cambodia, I think the remaining goalkeepers can still take on the task.

Goalkeepers Tran Trung Kien, Nguyen Van Viet and Trinh Xuan Hoang have all found official positions at clubs including HAGL, SL Nghe An and Thanh Hoa respectively. As I said, if players in general and goalkeepers in particular have played regularly in the V-League, they will accumulate a lot of experience.

I think the V-League matches are as intense as the match against Cambodia. In fact, the V-League matches are sometimes even more intense. Therefore, the goalkeepers who have been strong in the V-League are certainly strong enough to withstand the match against Cambodia.

In my opinion, the goalkeeper problem is not a big problem for the Vietnam team at the moment. At least for the upcoming match.

Thank you for the conversation!

Coach Kim Sang Sik reveals the possibility of experimenting with the goalkeeper position

Speaking to the media before the match between Vietnam and Cambodia tonight, coach Kim Sang Sik said: "Goalkeeper Dinh Trieu was injured a few days ago, but he has now recovered and is training normally with the team."

"However, we will evaluate whether goalkeeper Dinh Trieu will play in the match against the Cambodian team or not, especially after the team's training session on the afternoon of March 18," coach Kim Sang Sik added.

Excluding goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu, the remaining three goalkeepers currently on the Vietnam national team have only played once for the national team. Specifically, goalkeepers Tran Trung Kien and Trinh Xuan Hoang have never played for the Vietnam national team.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet has only played once for the national team, in a friendly match between Vietnam and Syria, in October 2023, under coach Troussier. At that time, Nguyen Van Viet was only 21 years old.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chuyen-gia-xuan-son-chan-thuong-ap-luc-lon-dat-len-vai-tien-linh-20250319010433463.htm