After the away draw with the Philippines in the third round, the Vietnamese team still leads Group B (7 points), 2 points ahead of the second-placed Indonesia. Although they are very confident to advance to the semi-finals as group winners, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are not necessarily safe.
With the current format of the ASEAN Cup 2024, the "Golden Star Warriors" can still exit the tournament right after the group stage if they play in the final match. That case happens when Vietnam loses to Myanmar by 2 goals or more and at the same time, Indonesia wins against the Philippines.
In the last 3 matches, although they scored in every match, even had big wins, the Vietnamese team's attack still left many worries, especially the fact that they could not score in the first half. Therefore, the anticipation for Xuan Son is growing.
"The weakness of our attack is still the ability to convert opportunities into goals. Although Mr. Kim has used many strikers such as Van Toan, Tuan Hai, Thanh Binh, Tien Linh, Vi Hao... the gap in strength is still large. Therefore, we are really waiting for Xuan Son.
Xuan Son has been in the stands watching his teammates play the last 3 matches and is eagerly waiting for the opportunity to enter the field. Our opponents are not too difficult and we are playing at home, so Xuan Son will be the center of expectations" - Commentator Quang Huy shared.
There are some concerns that the time Xuan Son was called up to the national team (after the training trip in Korea) was too short, making it difficult for the Nam Dinh striker to immediately catch up with his teammates. This is considered a big obstacle for the 27-year-old star to be able to fully develop his abilities.
"Xuan Son is a big, strong, and skilled player. Such a person will be able to adapt very quickly and understand the requirements of Mr. Kim Sang-sik. Moreover, Xuan Son has played in the V.League for a long time, so his teammates in the national team, even though they have never played for the same club, have some understanding of this naturalized striker. Therefore, I think everything will go smoothly" - Commentator Quang Huy commented.
Xuan Son is a rare versatile striker in the history of V.League, as he can play in many positions on the attack line. Therefore, fans are asking a big question about which role he will start in. Xuan Son can play as a center forward, attacking midfielder, or as a pair of strikers very well.
In the context of Vietnam's attack line having a very large number of personnel, Xuan Son's position on the field can change flexibly according to each situation and is not constrained.
"I think Xuan Son will be the highest player in the attack but can choose between the center forward in the attacking trio or the striker pair. If playing as a striker pair, I choose 3 possible names to share the burden with Xuan Son: Tien Linh, Tuan Hai or Hoang Duc. Hoang Duc used to play behind a foreign striker in the The Cong - Viettel club so he is very familiar" - Commentator Quang Huy predicted.
Xuan Son is a top-class striker in Southeast Asia and is expected to lead the Vietnamese team to the final, possibly even winning glory at the 2024 ASEAN Cup.
"Looking at the level of Southeast Asian football, especially in this tournament, no striker is rated as good as Xuan Son. I hope he will be a heavy weapon for the Vietnamese team in the knockout round. The further we go, the more I hope Xuan Son shines. Hopefully if we reach the final match against Thailand, Xuan Son will shine the brightest" - Commentator Quang Huy shared.
