Shining Moments
Overall, the Vietnamese team has not shown high stability in the past 4 matches in the group stage of the ASEAN Cup 2024. Except for the 5-0 victory over Myanmar, the Vietnamese team has not shown any difference against Indonesia and the Philippines.
Fortunately, the "Golden Star Warriors" always have players who shine at the right time. On the opening day, the Vietnamese team played a deadlocked match against the host Laos on the away field. Right before being substituted, Nguyen Hai Long exploded with an unbelievable shot to break the deadlock.
In the match against Indonesia, Nguyen Quang Hai's moment of genius brought a minimal 1-0 victory for the Vietnamese team. In fact, not many people still believed in the 3 points of the home team if they witnessed what happened in the first 45 minutes. The Vietnamese team had no specific plan to exploit the opponent's weakness and score.
3 days later, the Vietnamese team visited Rizal Memorial and the match was probably wrapped up in Doan Ngoc Tan's header that sealed the 1-1 draw in the 90+7 minute.
Thanh Hoa FC midfielder “rescued” coach Kim Sang-sik from the risk of a defeat. Ngoc Tan was the only one who started all the first three matches before being sidelined for the last round due to injury.
New wind Nguyen Xuan Son
Before the match between Vietnam and Myanmar took place, Nguyen Quang Hai, Bui Tien Dung and Doan Ngoc Tan emerged as the 3 most stable players and showed the best performance.
However, the new wind of the Vietnam team is Nguyen Xuan Son. Being placed in the starting lineup from the beginning in the match against Myanmar, Xuan Son had an impressive performance with 2 goals and 2 assists for his teammates. Importantly, the striker born in 1997 brought a new, emotional football.
Viet Tri Stadium was rekindled by Xuan Son’s powerful and explosive ball handling. Moreover, fans were really waiting for a “destructive” victory of the Vietnam team after a series of unsuccessful matches filled with sadness.
Nguyen Xuan Son deserves a perfect score for what he has done and the expectation index for him has increased dramatically. In fact, the dream of winning the 2024 ASEAN Cup of the Vietnamese team is even stronger when Nguyen Xuan Son is on the field.
Of course, playing well in the group stage is not a guarantee that those players will continue to excel in the semi-finals. But confidence and inspiration to play football are very important for stars like Quang Hai and Xuan Son.
At this time, the Vietnamese team cannot stabilize their playing style, so individual explosive moments become even more important.
