The Vietnamese team will be able to do what Coach Park could not do, if…

The Vietnamese team defeated Indonesia 1-0 in the match that took place on the evening of December 15 at Viet Tri Stadium. The full 3 points against the most formidable opponent in the group helped coach Kim Sang-sik and his team maintain their all-win record. With 6 points, Vietnam is at the top of Group B of the AFF Cup 2024, 2 points ahead of the second-placed team Indonesia (playing 1 match less).

If they win at least 3 points in the last 2 matches of the group stage, Quang Hai and his teammates will definitely enter the semi-finals as the top team.

However, the Vietnamese team can also break another curse that has existed for the past 6 years, which is never winning the third match in the AFF Cup group stage.

Vietnam team (red shirts) breaks the curse, why not?

Specifically, under coach Park Hang-seo, although the Vietnamese team was undefeated in the group stages for 3 consecutive tournaments (2018, 2020 and 2022), the team always drew 0-0 in the third match. In 2018, Vietnam drew with Myanmar away. In 2020, it was a draw with Indonesia at the neutral Bishan Stadium in Singapore. And in the 2022 AFF Cup, it was a draw with Singapore away.

Always drawing in the third match of the group stage means that the Vietnamese team has never won 3 consecutive group stage matches in the past 8 years.

Looking at the bigger picture, in the last two decades of playing in the AFF Cup, the Vietnamese team has only once had a perfect record in the group stage. That was the 2016 AFF Cup, when the team led by coach Nguyen Huu Thang won all 3 matches against Myanmar (2-1), Malaysia (1-0) and Cambodia (2-1) to take the top spot with 9 full points. In the remaining group stages, the Vietnamese team had at least 1 draw in the group stage.

If they defeat the Philippines at Rizal Memorial Stadium on December 18, the Vietnamese team will end the third draw streak in the AFF Cup group stage that has existed since 2018. At the same time, 3 points will help coach Kim Sang-sik and his team secure a place in the semi-finals with a first-round lead, thus making the final match against Myanmar a little easier.

The Vietnamese team has won all 5 recent matches against the Philippines, scoring 12 goals and conceding 5. At the opponent's Rizal Memorial Stadium alone, Quang Hai and his teammates have also won both of their most recent away matches. While the Vietnamese team has won all 6 points in 2 matches, the Philippines has only 2 points after 2 matches (drawing with Myanmar and Laos), and is at risk of being eliminated.

Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 is broadcast live and in full on FPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-se-lam-duoc-dieu-thoi-thay-park-chua-lam-duoc-neu-185241216124707427.htm