After the Vietnamese team won 4-0 against Indonesia and continued to lead Group G – the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia, coach Park Hang-seo said: ‘We feel it. Very happy to have won. I would like to say thank you to the students. But we still have two more games ahead of us. The team must not be too passionate, immersed in the victory. Need to work hard to win the next match’.
Mr. Park warned so because the nature of the match with Malaysia is more important. This is considered the final match of the group. The Vietnamese team has 14 points, Malaysia has 9 points. Although the gap is 5 points, it is very fragile. If the Vietnamese team wins, we will open the door to continue. The last match against the UAE, just 1 draw is enough.
However, if we lose to Malaysia, we will be in an extremely difficult position when the last match must win the UAE to have a chance to win the top of Group G. Our opponent has the home field advantage and is in good form. They won against Malaysia 4-0 and won against Thailand 3-1. Therefore, Mr. Park wants his students to be highly focused to win against Malaysia. The Vietnamese team is aiming for 3 points against Malaysia. Photo: VFF The Malaysian team has a longer break than Vietnam due to not playing the match on June 7. Besides, they also had time to analyze the gameplay and personnel situation of the Vietnamese team in the victory over Indonesia. “Although we have not won in the last 4 meetings, I am sure that Malaysia is aware of Vietnam’s tactics and playing style. We must make the most of every opportunity presented to us. In the encounters with Vietnam, we all had a chance to score. Therefore, our strikers have to know how to launch more dangerous shots to make the difference,” coach Tan Cheng Hoe shared. Coach Park Hang-seo used to worry that the Vietnamese team was caught by opponents. This caused him to have to find a change in the past time. After the match against Indonesia, it can be seen that, basically, the Vietnamese team still changes from a 3-4-3 to 3-5-2 diagram. Pulling Quang Hai reluctantly to the center of midfield also brought some surprises. However, in the next match, Mr. Park could not have Quang Hai’s service because he was “suspended”. Besides, Tuan Anh and Van Toan are not sure of their ability to play because of injuries from the match against Indonesia. We will have to face a squad consisting of many naturalized Malaysian players. Although the 3 naturalized players Liridon Krasniqi, Guilherme de Paula and Mohamadou Sumareh have not shown much in the confrontation with the UAE, they are still quality factors on the Malaysian side. One of the advantages of the Vietnamese team is that we are in good spirits after the victory over Indonesia. The players of the Vietnamese team after nearly 2 years of not playing have gained a sense of confidence and operated a cohesive squad. Besides, playing on a neutral field is also considered an advantage for the Vietnamese team. “According to the old schedule, we will play Malaysia’s away field, that stadium is 80,000 spectators, causing tremendous pressure. That field was very scary to us. However, now playing in the UAE is all the same, except for the home team. Meanwhile, we play the last match against the UAE, so there is no problem,” coach Park Hang-seo said. The Vietnamese team won against Malaysia in the 2018 AFF Cup final in My Dinh. We also overcame Malaysia in the first leg of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers also at My Dinh. However, when we leave the “fire pan” of My Dinh, we always have difficulties before the Ma people. That’s what coach Park Hang-seo wants the players to focus on. This is the moment when we: “Do not wallow in victory”. The match between Vietnam and Malaysia will take place at 23:45 on 11/6.
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