In the first five minutes of the second half, the Vietnamese futsal players forced their excellent Thai counterparts to retreat deep into their own half to defend. This is an extremely rare occurrence in the history of confrontations between the two teams, especially when Pham Duc Hoa and his teammates had to play under tremendous pressure from the “fire pan” Hua Mark, the stadium considered the “futsal holy land” of the Thai people.
Then, Tu Minh Quang's equalizer 1-1 made the whole team and the small group of Vietnamese fans present on the field burst with emotion. The belief that we would have a historic score right on Thailand's home field grew stronger, when Nhan Gia Hung hit the home team's goalpost, and two situations where Chu Van Tien and Minh Quang escaped and faced goalkeeper Arut Senbat.
After each missed opportunity, Thai fans felt like they were relieved. Unfortunately, at the decisive moment, the players' obsession with finishing appeared again, causing Diego Giustozzi and his team to miss the opportunity to take the lead and then accept a 1-2 defeat. Even though we had achieved the goal of reaching the quarter-finals, the scar of the defeat against the Thais made our joy incomplete.
This was not a good match for the home team, because the number of opportunities they missed was even more than the Vietnamese futsal team. The difference lies in the level between the two teams to help Thailand overcome difficulties. That so-called level has been accumulated by the Vietnamese Futsal team over time with effort and perseverance. And so, they have the right to be proud when they made the top futsal team in the continent have to retreat deep to defend, causing their fans, despite being cheered on at home, to fall into a state of heart-stopping and anxiety many times. That is professional progress, which sometimes the result of the match is not clearly shown.
In a quick exchange with coach Miguel Rodrigo after the match, the Spanish coach admitted that the Vietnamese futsal players played a very good match and their professional level had improved. Mr. Miguel emphasized: “Under the guidance of my colleague Diego Giustozzi, my close friend, the Vietnamese players have been raised to a higher level. This progress has made it no longer easy to defeat them.”
Present at Hua Mark, Mr. Title Yousang, a member of the management of Imane Futsal (Thailand's First Division Futsal team), was not surprised by the progress of the Vietnamese futsal team. According to Yousang, Duc Hoa and his teammates had caused many difficulties for Thailand at the Southeast Asian Futsal Championship and the SEA Games in 2022, and when they played again at the Asian Futsal Championship, Vietnam tried to shorten the gap in professional level. And many Thai fans stayed after the match to applaud and congratulate the Vietnamese futsal team.
Thailand is still a model for Vietnam Futsal to learn and develop. However, from the comprehensive defeats in terms of scores and game situation with previous opponents, now the Vietnam futsal team only loses in terms of scores and gradually improves on the field. But looking at the bigger picture, drawing on experience after the troubled matches with Myanmar and China, Duc Hoa and his teammates have restored the trust of fans on the journey to find a ticket to the Futsal World Cup 2024. That journey, we are only one quarter-final match away from Uzbekistan.
Despite losing to Thailand, the Vietnamese futsal team learned a lesson and was motivated after overcoming the tension at the end of the match to secure their ticket to the next round. In an interview with the Vietnamese media on the evening of April 21, Coach Giustozzi continued to show his confidence. He shared that he and his team had prepared all plans and tactics for each opponent if they met in this year's tournament.
The Argentine coach also believes that his students will create achievements in Thailand, because he clearly feels the desire and effort of each individual to bring glory to the Fatherland.
HUU THANH (from Bangkok)
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