The news that the newly naturalized striker was called up along with two teammates at the Nam Dinh Steel Club is, in the minds of many, “good news”. Because after what the Brazilian striker has shown in the V.League in recent years, it is undeniable that the Vietnamese National Team’s attack will be improved and upgraded.
However, the question is, is the attack of the “Golden Star Warriors” in recent times - even under coach Philippe Troussier - simply due to the strikers? Remember, in the 5 official matches under coach Kim Sang-sik, the strikers contributed 5/6 goals, of which, Tien Linh scored 3 goals, Tuan Hai scored 2 goals.
Assuming Xuan Son is on the list of 26 players participating in the ASEAN Cup 2024, how should the Korean coach adjust and arrange? As mentioned, the first thing to note is that the attacking power will be multiplied, but is Xuan Son sure that he can solve all the attacking problems in the match?
He will only join the team after playing the Asian Cup C2 with Nam Dinh on the evening of December 4, while according to the schedule, on December 6, the team will leave for Laos to prepare for the match on December 9. In fact, the striker born in 1997 is only eligible to play from the match against Myanmar on December 21 - that is, the last match of the group stage. In the previous 3 matches, including the important match against Indonesia, Xuan Son can only practice, support, and integrate with his teammates.
Here, if coach Kim Sang-sik puts too much focus on the solution named Xuan Son and ignores, or forgets, other options, the price to pay could be very high. Focusing on Tien Linh and Tuan Hai is still very important, as well as changes from the midfield, to create more connections and open up more attacking options.
Betting on Xuan Son in the semi-finals - more ambitious than the final - also needs to be calculated, because there are many differences between training and reality. And having to find ways to adapt to each other in such important matches is clearly not advisable.
Domestic strikers are still capable of solving the problem, just need effective support from the back line...
