Vietnam has shown the world that…

Remembering Coach Park's famous saying about Thai football

In 2019, answering a question from a Thai reporter, Coach Park Hang-seo strongly affirmed: " I would like to ask again, we do not underestimate Thailand, why should we be afraid of Thailand? For us, no matter who the opponent is, Vietnam always plays without fear . I always ask my students to play with that spirit. I personally do the same. And the same goes for the Vietnamese team, whether they have to face Korea, Japan or any opponent in Asia.

As for Thailand, we know they are a strong team, but we have also tried very hard to become the 2018 AFF Cup champion. The players and I always try our best.”

In the first leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final on January 2, 2025, Mr. Park Hang-seo attended Viet Tri Stadium and once again witnessed his former students, not afraid of Thailand!

Mr. Park Hang-seo attended Viet Tri Stadium on January 2.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

In fact, the 27-year curse of not winning against Thailand at home, as well as not having won against the Thai team in official matches since 2008, has made many people worry that Vietnamese players may be "nervous" when they meet Thailand again in the AFF Cup 2024.

Doan Ngoc Tan - an important piece of the team

PHOTO: FPT

Vietnam team is not afraid of Thailand

However, that did not happen. Coach Kim Sang-sik's players played with confidence. We even dominated Thailand in the second half of the first leg of the final. The Vietnamese team attacked better than their opponents, created more scoring opportunities and scored more goals.

It was the Thai players who lost their cool when facing the Vietnamese team, not the other way around. They lost their cool to the point that they passed the ball straight to the Vietnamese players' feet several times in this match, as well as being careless in defense.

One of those mistakes by the Thai team created an opportunity for Nguyen Xuan Son of the Vietnamese team to gain the ball, dribble through the defense of the Golden Temple team, before scoring the goal to raise the score to 2-0 for the Vietnamese team.

Thai players made many mistakes when facing the Vietnamese team

On the contrary, the defenders of the Vietnamese team hardly made any serious mistakes in the first leg of the final. There were two situations where we were defeated in the match at Viet Tri Stadium. That was the goal that narrowed the gap to 1-2 by center-back Chalermsak Aukkee in the 83rd minute. Before that, Suphanat Mueanta's free kick hit the crossbar in the 81st minute.

However, these plays came from the individual abilities of the Thai players, they were too good in the above situations, and it was not a defensive error of the Vietnamese team. After the match, center back Thanh Chung said: "I heard some people say that we are afraid of the Thai team. This is not true. As professional players, when we go out on the field, we are not afraid of any team."

That confidence of the Vietnamese players helped us win 2-1 against Thailand in the first leg. Currently, the professional capacity of the Vietnamese team is very different from ours a few months ago, especially after coach Kim Sang-sik's team added striker Nguyen Xuan Son. A team with professional capacity will automatically have confidence.

We will carry that confidence into the return match on the opponent's field a few days later. The more confident the Vietnamese team is, the more likely the opponent will make mistakes, as happened in Viet Tri on the evening of January 2.

Watch ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 live & in full on FPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sao-phai-so-doi-tuyen-thai-lan-viet-nam-da-minh-chung-cho-ca-the-gioi-thay-185250103025027893.htm