The reason why Vietnam team will be stronger when playing Indonesia again

Midfielder Thai Son in the Vietnam national team jersey

Highlights of the "rejuvenation" process

In Qatar, Coach Troussier has put a lot of faith in and given opportunities to young players or some players who did not have much chance to play in the Vietnam national team under Coach Park Hang-seo. They are Phan Tuan Tai, Vo Minh Trong, Nguyen Thai Son, Pham Xuan Manh, Le Pham Thanh Long, Nguyen Dinh Bac, Nguyen Van Tung, Nguyen Van Truong, Khuat Van Khang and Nguyen Van Toan.

In fact, Coach Troussier has more or less achieved positive performances. Now, we have a Minh Trong who attacks and defends smoothly, handles the ball confidently in a small area, once forcing an Iraqi player to put the ball into his own net (but the referee did not recognize the goal).

In the midfield, Thai Son played quite confidently. In the attack, Dinh Bac created an explosion with a goal against the Japanese team and a series of confident dribbles. He even "threaded the needle" through Wataru Endo, the main striker of Liverpool FC.

Mr. Troussier has a clear opinion about the strength of the Vietnamese team.

Meanwhile, despite being heavily criticized for his red card in the match against Iraq, Khuat Van Khang also deserves encouragement. The midfielder of Viettel The Cong Club played very hard every time he was on the field and had an assist for Bui Hoang Viet Anh to score.

At the 2023 Asian Cup, Khuat Van Khang is the Vietnamese player with the most shots and created opportunities (4 times, equal to Quang Hai and Viet Anh).

Limitations and the return of the “veterans”

So what are the weak points? That is, Tuan Tai is exploited quite a lot. He is not a real center back, his physique, fitness and strength are not very good, so he will reveal many weaknesses every time the Vietnamese team is under pressure from direct attacks.

On the right wing, Xuan Manh has not made much of an impact in attack. However, he still started all 3 matches and got injured afterwards. Coach Troussier also made changes too slowly. In the 0-1 loss to Indonesia, Vu Van Thanh replaced Xuan Manh in the 89th minute.

The short remaining time was not enough for the defender of Hanoi Police Club to make a difference.

Xuan Manh is a discovery on the right wing of the Vietnam team.

Coach Troussier’s midfield decisions were still not reasonable. He left Hung Dung on the bench in the match against Indonesia despite the midfielder’s excellent performance in the previous match against Japan. Quang Hai, who did not play a single minute for the “Blue Samurai”, wore the captain’s armband in the decisive match against Indonesia and did not play very impressively.

Meanwhile, in a match with too much pressure both professionally and mentally against coach Shin Tae-yong's team, young midfielder Thai Son was "overwhelmed" and had to leave the field after 45 minutes.

On the offensive line, it is clear that Van Tung and Van Truong are not strong enough to shine in a big arena.

The problems of the Vietnamese team can be solved in the upcoming rematch with Indonesia. At this time, important factors such as Nguyen Hoang Duc, Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Nguyen Tien Linh, Dang Van Lam... have recovered from injuries.

The Vietnam team is waiting for the return of a series of key players.

With Ngoc Hai and Thanh Chung, the Vietnamese team's defense will certainly be more solid. Hoang Duc will also help the Vietnamese team's midfield become smoother. The direct dribbling of the midfielder from Hai Duong is the heavy "weapon" that we lacked at the recent 2023 Asian Cup.

In the role of a withdrawn striker, Tien Linh has also played better and better, gradually perfecting his skills to meet the requirements of Coach Troussier. This striker has received many compliments from the French coach in the matches against the Philippines and Iraq in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

When the “backbone” (center back, central midfielder, striker) of the Vietnamese team is more stable, we can completely trust in a victory for the home team. Moreover, Ngoc Hai, Hoang Duc, Tien Linh… are key players who have defeated Indonesia many times, and can “overwhelm” the students of coach Shin Tae-yong.

Remember, psychology is still a very, very important factor in football.

And importantly, Coach Troussier needs to trust more in experienced players. The "veterans" are mostly 26 - 27 years old and need to be used to make the French strategist's rejuvenation strategy more effective and successful.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/ly-do-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-se-manh-hon-khi-tai-dau-indonesia-185240214172923691.htm