After the 3-1 victory over Singapore in the second leg, Xuan Son was once again rated the highest in the Vietnamese team by Sofascore. With 2 goals and 1 penalty, Xuan Son was rated the highest in the match at 8.4. Previously, after the first leg of the semi-final, he was rated 8 points (still the highest on the field). Even in his debut for the Vietnamese team in the 5-0 victory over Myanmar, with 2 goals and 2 assists, Xuan Son was rated a perfect 10.
In the second leg of the semi-final against Singapore, Xuan Manh started from the start and left a strong impression. He was rated 7 points by Sofascore, the second highest among the four midfielders. It was not too surprising that Xuan Manh started and played well.
"I'm not surprised by this. Right from the beginning of the tournament, I said that Xuan Manh would play well if he started in his familiar position. Mr. Kim can reserve other matches to give many new or young players a chance to try their hand. However, in the important match, Xuan Manh is still one of the key positions that needs to be used.
Xuan Manh has good physical strength, attacks and defends well, and sometimes has very brave aerial battles. With this performance, I think from now until the end of the tournament, Xuan Manh will be used even more" - Commentator Quang Huy shared.
Contrary to many people's predictions, goalkeeper Dinh Trieu continued to be trusted in the second leg of the semi-final, replacing Nguyen Filip. He was given 7.2 points, at a high average compared to the team's score (6.95 points). From the beginning of the tournament, Filip was expected to take the starting position, but up to now, he has played fewer times than Dinh Trieu. The Vietnamese team still has 2 final matches ahead, whether Filip will be able to play or not is a big question mark.
"I think Dinh Trieu basically caught the ball well. In the situation where Singapore was denied a penalty by VAR, Dinh Trieu's reflexes were also excellent. Otherwise, the ball could have gone straight into the net. If the ball had gone straight into our goal, the referee's reaction might have been different.
When he stands in goal, everyone knows Dinh Trieu's weakness is his footwork, so we gradually limit passing back to the goalkeeper.
As for Filip being able to start in the final, if the opponent is Thailand, I think that makes sense. Thailand has more physically strong players in the attack line than Singapore. In recent years at the national team level, the average height of Thai players is over 1.8m. If in set pieces, they focus on playing in the air, it is very dangerous and Filip is still needed" - Commentator Quang Huy commented.
The second highest-rated player in the Vietnamese team is Hoang Duc (7.5). In this match, Mr. Kim arranged Ngoc Tan to play next to Hoang Duc. Ngoc Tan is like a support behind to help Hoang Duc dominate up front. The performance of the midfielder from Phu Dong Ninh Binh is highly appreciated, he is the breath of the midfield.
"In this match, Singapore has the return of Nakamura, so the appearance of Ngoc Tan to stick close is very reasonable. Therefore, Hoang Duc can move up to put pressure on Singapore's defense.
I saw Hoang Duc start playing well in the first leg of the semi-finals. In this match, he played better and there is a possibility that he will be even better. Hoang Duc is a great player, having won the Vietnamese Golden Ball twice. I believe that if the Hoang Duc - Quang Hai pair are allowed to play in the final match, they will be even more compatible because the general trend of the team at this time is still improving" - Commentator Quang Huy predicted.
