The appearance of Nguyen Xuan Son makes the competition for a starting position in the Vietnamese national team's attack more interesting. When the best striker in the V.League in the past 2 years is eligible to play, it is clear that his teammates face the risk of losing their place in the squad.
Therefore, until Nguyen Xuan Son can play for the Vietnam national team (the earliest is the match against Myanmar), the remaining strikers need to take advantage of the time to consolidate their positions. The opening match against Laos is a good opportunity.
Nominally, this is the least difficult challenge for the Vietnamese team in the group stage. Laos is ranked 186th in the latest FIFA rankings, the lowest of the five teams in Group B. They are also the only team in this group that has never passed the AFF Cup group stage.
Tien Linh and Tuan Hai are the two players who scored the most goals in the first five friendly matches of the Vietnamese team under coach Kim Sang-sik.
It can be predicted that the problem awaiting the Vietnamese team is to penetrate the deep defensive formation of Laos. The large number of players in the penalty area will not give Nguyen Tien Linh and his teammates much space to play.
It is likely that the Vietnamese team will dominate the ball. The problem is how coach Kim Sang-sik's players will create pressure and maintain it to make the opponent's defense vulnerable. In addition, the most important thing is the ability to take advantage of opportunities.
This is something the Vietnamese team has not been able to demonstrate in most of the first friendly matches under coach Kim Sang-sik. Except for the 3-2 win over the Philippines, the Vietnamese team has not had any other time to demonstrate a sharp attacking style.
We can sympathize with Mr. Kim and his students, because in the next 4 matches, the Vietnamese team had to face strong opponents twice (Iraq, Russia). In the remaining 2 matches (against Thailand and India), the Korean coach experimented quite a lot.
Through 5 friendly matches, coach Kim Sang-sik used 5 different sets of 3 starting strikers. However, most of them had Nguyen Tien Linh as the striker and Nguyen Quang Hai as one of the 2 wings. Bui Vi Hao, Pham Tuan Hai - fast players are often used in the second half. These could be the options that Mr. Kim prioritizes in the AFF Cup 2024.
The appearance of Nguyen Xuan Son can add motivation and pressure to other strikers of the Vietnam team.
Among the strikers of the Vietnamese team who can play tonight (December 9), Tien Linh is in the best form. He has 7 goals after 9 rounds in the 2024-2025 V.League, ranking second in the "top scorer" race. The Binh Duong striker also has 3 goals in 5 matches for the Vietnamese team under coach Kim Sang-sik.
However, if the Korean coach continues to use the 3-4-3 formation, Tien Linh is the one at highest risk of losing his position to Nguyen Xuan Son. Both are strikers and it is clear that the newly naturalized Brazilian player is in better form and has a more diverse playing style.
The biggest pressure will be on Tien Linh. However, that does not mean that the wingers do not have to worry about competing with Nguyen Xuan Son. The Vietnamese team can use 2 strikers to avoid wasting 2 strikers who are in good form. Nguyen Xuan Son rarely plays on the wing for Nam Dinh, but he can completely move out wide, ensuring that Tien Linh can "catch the net" up front - which is the Binh Duong striker's forte.
The V.League record holder - the player who scored the most goals in a season - will not play in the first 3 matches. The remaining strikers of the Vietnam team will have 270 minutes to solidify their positions in the starting lineup, before there is another formidable "rival".
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-dau-lao-nguyen-xuan-son-tao-ap-luc-cho-tien-linh-tuan-hai-ar912372.html
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