How will the Vietnamese team defend to shock the 'big guy' Iraq?

After a 2-0 victory over the Philippines, the Vietnamese team will return to My Dinh Stadium to host Iraq in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, in a match taking place at 7 p.m. on November 21.

The Iraqi team is obviously a much stronger opponent than the average Southeast Asian team. The last two times they met teams from this region in the World Cup qualifiers, Iraq won against Indonesia (5-1) and Thailand (4-0).

Iraq's strength is its muscular and direct style of play. Instead of passing the ball sequentially to develop the game, coach Jesus Casas' team wants to push the ball as close to the opponent's goal as possible. Thanks to their impressive physical strength, Iraq "suffocated" Indonesia, with only relatively simple long passes and high passes.

The Iraqi team is very strong.

That signals a difficult match for the Vietnamese defense on the evening of November 21. The battle with strong, combative West Asian teams has never been easy for the Vietnamese team.

Under coach Philippe Troussier, skillful and agile players are often prioritized. Proof of this is the young player Tuan Tai who was arranged to play as a left-wing center-back, even though he is quite thin and not good at one-on-one combat. That is because coach Troussier wants a passer right from the defense to facilitate the ball deployment.

The Vietnamese team can deploy the ball better with flexible players like Tuan Tai and Thanh Binh. But in return, with players who are not strong in the contested phases, the Vietnamese team's defense often takes risks when the opponent increases the pressure.

In the match against the Philippines, the left-wing center-back Thanh Binh did not play well. The Viettel player fought unsafely in one-on-one duels, mishandling or misjudging situations at least twice in the second half, creating conditions for the Philippine striker to face Van Lam.

Coach Troussier admitted that the Vietnamese team was lucky not to concede a goal, while Philippines coach Michael Weiss said that if the home team had taken advantage of one of the many opportunities in the second half, the game at Rizal Memorial Stadium would have been very different.

The Vietnam team is not yet complete.

The relatively loose defense of the Vietnamese team comes from two factors. First, Mr. Troussier is missing the leader Que Ngoc Hai, who is a good central defender who is good at fighting and reading situations, ready to cover for his teammates. Duy Manh, another bright choice thanks to his ability to fight fiercely, is also absent due to injury. Coach Troussier is probably still waiting for Que Ngoc Hai's situation. If the 30-year-old central defender can return in time, the defense of the Vietnamese team will be more solid.

With an inexperienced and makeshift defense, the Vietnamese team was lucky to keep a clean sheet at Rizal Memorial, partly because the opponent's finishing was poor.

However, Iraq is on another level. Mohanad Ali and his teammates scored 5 goals against Indonesia after only... 4 shots on target (1 goal was an own goal by center back Jordi Amat). That means every time they shot at Indonesia's goal, Iraq scored.

The impressive attacking efficiency of the West Asian representative comes from the comprehensive finishing skills of the strikers. The Iraqi strikers handle the ball quickly, neatly, without unnecessary movements and always kick with great force. In the match against Indonesia, Iraq scored goals from shots at dangerous angles, in unfavorable positions.

This requires the Vietnamese team to cover better to narrow the gap, play fiercely, and roll to prevent the opponent from shooting. The ability to defend the flanks is the key for Mr. Troussier's students to cause a surprise in this match. The wingers like Minh Trong and Van Cuong need to play very focused, using their youth to make up for the lack of experience when facing the Iraqi striker.

Will Que Ngoc Hai be able to return?

The Iraqi team tends to play on the wing, combining passes and passes on the wing and then passing the ball inside for the strong strikers to find opportunities. Iraq coach Jesus Casas is not a "fan" of fancy football. He values ​​practicality, always looking for efficiency through the quickest and neatest attacks.

In the match against Indonesia, Iraq dominated the ball possession (75%), but scored from short but deadly combinations.

Coach Troussier has studied the playing style of the Iraqi team. Hopefully in the next match, the "White Witch" will arrange a scientific defense system. The attacking ability of the Vietnamese team has been proven. Now it is the defensive ability, when the players have to face a very strong team. The friendly matches with Syria or Palestine (also West Asian teams) are the fulcrum for the Vietnamese team to accumulate enough capital, ready for a difficult match.

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