Vietnam team needs to fix 'strange' habits to defeat Cambodia

Vietnam team started slowly

Under coach Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnamese team has been unbeaten in the last 12 matches (including official and international friendlies), winning 10 of them. In the last 8 matches within the framework of the AFF Cup 2024, Mr. Kim and his team won 7, thus becoming the team with the most victories in a season in the Southeast Asian playground.

However, what is relatively strange is that the Vietnamese team has a habit of starting slowly. At the AFF Cup 2024, only 2 out of 21 goals scored by coach Kim Sang-sik's students came in the first half.

The Vietnamese team (red shirts) often have difficulty playing in the first half.

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

The remaining 19 goals came in the second half, including goals in extra time such as in the matches against the Philippines (Doan Ngoc Tan scored in the 90+7 minute), Singapore (Nguyen Tien Linh scored in the 90+9 minute, Nguyen Xuan Son scored in the 90+14 minute) or Thailand (Nguyen Hai Long scored in the 90+19 minute).

The Vietnamese team won the championship thanks to the inspiration of Xuan Son (7 goals), combined with an impressive physical foundation to compete with the opponent until the last minute. However, the limitation of the team coached by Mr. Kim Sang-sik is that they often cannot impose the game to quickly crush the opponent, but have to rush into a physical tug-of-war.

In the first half of the 2024 AFF Cup alone, the Vietnamese team failed to score against Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar (group stage), Singapore (first leg of the semi-finals) and Thailand (first leg of the final). Even when facing teams like Laos or the Philippines, Quang Hai and his teammates did not dominate the first 45 minutes.

Although in football, the second half plays an important role as it contains the decisive moments of the match, the role of the first half cannot be denied. If playing well from the beginning, the Vietnamese team can score early, thereby controlling the rhythm of the game and being more relaxed in the second half, instead of having to be nervous until the last second in every match.

Need to get in better

The Vietnamese team's habit of starting slowly comes from many reasons: coach Kim Sang-sik's philosophy of prioritizing solid defense, many players' poor ability to keep up with the game...

However, the core reason is that the Vietnamese team is still a team that prioritizes counter-attacking, and cannot really pressure and impose their style of play. For example, in the match against Laos, Mr. Kim's students could not force the opponent to return to their home field, but played very monotonously, lacking in strategy. The Vietnamese team only rushed forward to decide the match in the second half, when the opponent was exhausted.

The Vietnam team needs to impose a better playing style.

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

At the AFF Cup 2024, long passes from the defense and midfield become effective, when Mr. Kim has a muscular and competitive center forward like Xuan Son. Coach Kim once told the players that whenever the ball is difficult (difficult situation), pass it to Xuan Son. He can handle the ball independently in the opponent's defense, receiving the ball in situations that other teammates can hardly handle.

However, Xuan Son will rest for another 6 months, certainly missing the friendly match with Cambodia (March 19) and 2 matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Laos and Malaysia. It is difficult for the Vietnamese team to play in such a simple way.

The defenders and midfielders need a stronger connection to circulate the ball effectively, and the attackers also need to coordinate more carefully and smoothly. Coach Kim Sang-sik currently has Tien Linh and Dinh Thanh Binh as the center forwards. Regardless of which striker they choose, the Vietnamese team needs to control the game well and attack in a systematic and methodical manner. We no longer have a "Mr. Ta" with the physique of a foreign player to depend on.

Facing a team like Cambodia is an opportunity for coach Kim Sang-sik to test new tactics. The Cambodian team is stronger than Laos, has many famous naturalized players, plays with a lot of technique and focuses on ball control. Cambodia's progress in the past 5 years cannot be underestimated.

Therefore, the Vietnamese team must learn to control the game to "steer" the game as desired. It is not easy to pressure Cambodia, but let's wait and see what the remaining firepower of coach Kim can do.

Source: https://archive.vietnam.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-can-sua-thoi-quen-la-de-danh-bai-camuchia/