Behind the undeserved defeat
Before beating Laos 4-1 in the opening match of the ASEAN Cup (formerly known as the AFF Cup) 2024, the Vietnamese team had not conceded a single goal against this opponent in official matches for the past 26 years.
The story that led to the first goal conceded by the “Golden Star Warriors” in nearly 3 decades is even more worth pondering. It was not a situation where Laos actively attacked to create a goal, but instead stemmed from a lack of concentration from goalkeeper Dinh Trieu in the 3rd minute of extra time in the 2nd half.
At that time, the ball, instead of going up or out to the two sides, suddenly fell right in front of the empty goal. From a position close to the penalty area, striker Bounphachan immediately approached. This situation forced Duy Manh to rush in to block and clear the danger. However, in a disadvantageous position when being covered by the opponent, the central defender born in 1996 accidentally fouled the Lao player.
After directly consulting VAR to check the sensitive situation, the referee decided to award the Laos team a penalty kick and the home team got an honorable goal.
On the other hand, although they still won 4-1 against their opponent, that loss was a lesson that Dinh Trieu, Duy Manh and the entire Vietnamese team's defense needed to learn from.
Beware of "mistakes"
Although goalkeeper Dinh Trieu did not directly cause the penalty for Vietnam, his lack of feeling and lack of concentration were the cause of the incident.
For Do Duy Manh, this is the third time he has committed a foul that has led to the Vietnamese team having to accept a penalty. Of course, looking at the actual situation, the central defender born in 1996 does not deserve criticism.
However, fans and experts hope Duy Manh can keep a "cool head" when handling situations, especially in the penalty area. Especially when the appearance of VAR has caused the rate of checking and converting collisions into penalties to increase significantly over the years. "50-50" situations like the way Duy Manh fought with Bounphachan should not happen.
Many opinions say that instead of rushing in when being covered by a Lao player, Duy Manh could have calmly waited for the opponent to control the ball for a moment and then closed in. At that time, he would have had more time, space, ability to neutralize and avoid penalties.
The mistake that led to the loss against Laos needs to be eliminated, because in the next round, the Vietnamese team will face the clever and unpredictable Indonesian team.
It should be remembered that the beginning of Vietnam's series of three consecutive defeats against Indonesia in 2024 also came from a penalty. The lack of alertness and haste of center back Thanh Binh made the Vietnamese team pay the price in the Asian Cup finals.
At that time, instead of calmly covering and waiting for his teammates to cover, the 24-year-old player pulled down his opponent right in the penalty area. The Indonesian team just waited for VAR to intervene and was finally awarded a penalty.
Goalkeeper Nguyen Filip could not stop Asnawi from coolly putting the ball into the net. That defeat also marked the beginning of the collapse of the Vietnamese team under coach Philippe Troussier. That "wound" must still be remembered by many Vietnamese players...
