In the 2-3 loss to China, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) released a statistic that brought many worries to the Vietnamese team. That is the successful duels of the Vietnamese team at only 28.1% - a far loss to the Chinese team (72.7%).
Coach Park Hang-seo's team is famous for playing durably, flexibly and very confidently in the second qualifying round. We have only conceded 5 goals in 8 matches, including 5 clean sheets.
However, entering the third qualifying round, everything changed rapidly, when Mr. Park's students faced the strongest teams in Asia. After only 3 matches, the Vietnamese team has conceded 7 goals. The defense is no longer playing solidly as before, many mistakes are exposed and are thoroughly exploited by the opponent.
The poor duels ratio between Vietnam and China shows physical risks? The loss in the 1 vs 1 matches partly demonstrated the fatigue of some players, when coach Park Hang-seo still kept a rigid framework and rarely rotated the squad. Once their physical strength is declining and tired, players will find it difficult to maintain the highest concentration and handle inaccurate situations.
Compared to September, the Vietnam team encountered clear difficulties in weather and climate issues when playing 2 consecutive matches in the UAE and Oman, where the temperatures were high and dry, causing players to lose strength very quickly. The team also went through a time-consuming journey from the UAE to Oman, in addition to the poor quality of the training ground.
Oman determined to beat Vietnam at all costs to compete with the top teams. Coach Branko Ivankovic builds a squad with many young players, with aggressive playing style, speed and abundant physical strength. Oman's training and friendly matches are carefully calculated, helping the whole team enter the matches with a high determination.
Except for the complete under-ground loss to Australia, Oman created more scoring opportunities against Japan and Saudi Arabia. In the most recent home match against Saudi Arabia, Branko Ivankovic's team had 10 shots, compared to 7 of their opponents. In addition, this West Asian team also achieved an impressive ball possession rate, up to more than 40% in the last two matches, higher than the average of 36% of the Vietnamese team.
Oman's biggest limitation is their ability to take advantage of opportunities. With that, the Vietnamese team will face a huge challenge at Sultan Qaboos Stadium on the evening of October 12. Coach Park Hang-seo will have to carefully consider using the force, ensuring that the players have the best mental and physical condition. Only then can the team hope to get points against Oman.
