The Palestinian team is a quality opponent with a level that can be considered equal to the Vietnamese team. According to the FIFA rankings, the Palestinian team is ranked 96th in the world, which is only 1 place lower than Vietnam. In terms of head-to-head record, 9 years ago, Vietnam, led by its predecessor Toshiya Miura, suffered a 1-3 defeat against the opponent from the West Asian region.
Vietnam team's starting lineup
In this rematch, the Vietnamese team with home field advantage is determined to win to prepare well for the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia in November. Against the Palestinian team, coach Philippe Troussier experimented by fielding a rather strange lineup. The French coach let goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu start from the start, the three central defenders were Duy Manh, Viet Anh and Thanh Binh, and the two wingers were Trung Hieu and Viet Hung. In the midfield, Tuan Anh, Hung Dung and Quang Hai appeared, while Hoang Duc and Tuan Hai played the highest.
The Vietnamese team played better in the first half, coach Philippe Troussier's players actively played with ball control. In the 11th minute, Tuan Hai had a chance to score from a quality pass from Quang Hai. This player calmly defended Palestine in the penalty area but due to losing his position, the accuracy of his final shot was not accurate. Six minutes later, the Palestinian team had an answer when striker Ali Abualfa rushed into the penalty area from the left wing but goalkeeper Dinh Trieu rushed out in time to successfully block.
Tuan Hai played energetically in the first half.
The scoring opportunity continued to come to the Vietnamese team in the 21st minute when Hoang Duc shot the ball close to the goal in the penalty area but the Palestine defender rolled to save it. In the 27th minute, the Vietnamese team escaped defeat when Hasan had a chance in the penalty area, if he could have touched the ball, this player would have had a high chance of scoring for Palestine. In the remaining time of the first half, the Vietnamese team continued to hold the ball more but could not approach the opponent's goal or create clear opportunities. Meanwhile, the Palestinian team almost did not have any notable attacks.
Cong Phuong opened the score
At the beginning of the second half, coach Philippe Troussier made some personnel adjustments when he brought in Cong Phuong and Tuan Duong to replace Thanh Binh and Hung Dung. The appearance of Cong Phuong pulled Hoang Duc back to his usual attacking midfield position. And this adjustment by coach Philippe Troussier paid off. In the 61st minute, Cong Phuong sprinted down to receive a classy pass from Hoang Duc, penetrated the penalty area and skillfully flicked the ball past the Palestine goalkeeper, opening the score 1-0 for the Vietnamese team.
Van Toan made an impressive entrance into the field.
Not long after, Van Toan was substituted for Quang Hai and this change continued to have an effect. In the 78th minute, Van Toan broke through strongly on the right wing and led into the 16m50 area before crossing for his teammate Tuan Hai to easily connect and score into the empty net, raising the score to 2-0. During the remaining time of the match, the Vietnamese team played leisurely and still maintained the score. Meanwhile, the Palestinian team also had scoring opportunities but the strikers of the opposing team could not take advantage.
Convincing victory for the home team
The final result of the friendly match at Thien Truong Stadium was 2-0. This is the third consecutive victory of the Vietnamese team under coach Philippe Troussier after 2 victories with the same score of 1-0 against Syria and Hong Kong (China) in June. This is the best preparation for the "Golden Star Warriors" for the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia in November.
VINH HY; photo: VFF
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