Vietnam team must restore 'steel' before it's too late

Loose defense

On the positive side, the failure at the 2023 Asian Cup has brought the Vietnamese team many valuable experiences. The biggest playground in Asia has helped coach Philippe Troussier see the overall problem of the "machine" he is operating with a new philosophy and formula, one of which is the solidity in defense.

With 8 goals conceded, Vietnam is the team that conceded the most goals in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup (along with Malaysia). The defense constantly conceded goals is the reason why, despite scoring 4 goals (equal to the number of goals in the group stage of the 2019 and 2007 Asian Cup), Mr. Troussier's students still lost all 3 matches.

When the offense "fired," the defense conceded more goals. When the offense was silent, the defense could not keep a clean sheet. Under the French strategist, the defense is no longer the strong point of the Vietnamese team.

The Vietnamese team made many mistakes.

In the last 9 matches, the team has conceded 21 goals (an average of 2.3 goals per match), only keeping a clean sheet in 1 match. The goals conceded also come from many different scenarios such as high balls, set pieces, central coordination, and wing attacks. In the series of consecutive matches of conceding goals by the Vietnamese team, individual and systematic mistakes have appeared, although Mr. Troussier has used many different defensive frameworks.

First of all, on a personal level, injury took away veteran central defender Que Ngoc Hai from the Vietnamese national team. Although central defender Bui Hoang Viet Anh has replaced his senior's role quite well at the 2023 Asian Cup, the two remaining pieces of the defense, Nguyen Thanh Binh and Phan Tuan Tai, have both played unimpressively.

Thanh Binh made a direct mistake that caused his team to lose to Indonesia, while Tuan Tai also competed poorly and did not maintain his fitness throughout the match. The defender born in 2001 was fixed in the left center-back position by Coach Troussier since he coached the Vietnam team.

But up to now, Tuan Tai has not shown his worth. While his ability to develop the ball (the reason why Tuan Tai is trusted) has not been demonstrated, he has shown his immaturity and weakness in defense.

The problem is, is coach Troussier lacking central defenders to the point of having to use such pieces?

Is Phan Tuan Tai suitable for the left center back position?

So, the issue is personal, in fact, Mr. Troussier's choice. The French coach wants to build a defense that is good at launching attacks from home, has good footwork skills to weave and bounce back under pressure from the opponent.

However, three consecutive defeats in the Asian Cup show that before discussing passing ability, the central defenders must protect the goal. Defending poorly, playing according to any philosophy is meaningless.

Thailand only scored 2 goals in the group stage (half as many as Vietnam), but still finished second and advanced. The key point is that Thailand kept a clean sheet in all 3 matches. So, every goal is used to its full potential. Indonesia conceded 6 goals against Iraq and Japan, but a clean sheet in the match they needed to win was enough.

Ironically, while teams are becoming more and more pragmatic (12 out of 24 teams in the tournament conceded no more than 3 goals in the group stage), a team that was once solid and sturdy like the Vietnam team has gone against the trend, becoming more vulnerable to conceding goals than ever.

Reinforcement

The key word in Coach Troussier's success with the Japanese team at the Asian Cup 24 years ago was "tightness". The French strategist always emphasized collective play. A good team with the right playing philosophy will create the path to success. Football is like that in any era.

Coach Troussier needs to reshape the framework

However, in 1 year of coaching the Vietnam team, Coach Troussier has only demonstrated the philosophy. As for the personnel, he has not yet formed a clear framework. The chaos is acceptable in the attack, but in the defense it is different.

In the rematch against Indonesia in March, Coach Troussier will have Do Duy Manh back. Que Ngoc Hai is still recovering, leaving open the chance to play, as is Doan Van Hau. This is the star squad that helped the Vietnam team keep a clean sheet in 5 out of 8 matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and also clean sheets in all 4 recent matches against Indonesia before the 2023 Asian Cup.

When the current generation of players have to wear a shirt that is too loose, that is a modern playing philosophy but far from the ability of Vietnamese players, perhaps Coach Troussier needs to return to the most basic things. To at least serve the immediate goal: passing the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

The Vietnam team needs to defend better. If so, Coach Troussier must change, otherwise, he may be the one to be changed.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-phai-phu-lai-chat-thep-truoc-khi-qua-muon-185240127102539291.htm