A stable journey in the group stage
The Vietnamese futsal team entered this year's tournament with careful preparation and quickly showed proactiveness right from the opening match. Against Myanmar, coach Diego Giustozzi's students controlled the game well and won convincingly 4-0. This is a match that shows the effectiveness in attacking organization as well as the team's ability to take advantage of opportunities.
In the second match against Timor-Leste, the Vietnamese futsal team continued to maintain impressive form when winning heavily 7-1. Not only controlling the game overwhelmingly, the team also showed diversity in approaching the goal with many goalscorers. After two matches, the Vietnamese futsal team scored 11 goals and conceded only once, thereby quickly opening the door to the semi-finals.
The last match of the group stage against host Thailand is decisive for the top spot in Group A. Although both teams have qualified for the next round, the match still took place at high speed and with good professional quality. The Vietnamese futsal team sometimes played evenly with the opponent, but lost 2-4 after not taking advantage of set pieces well and making some mistakes in defense.
This defeat caused the Vietnam futsal team to close the group stage with second place in Group A, thereby having to face Indonesia - the team that won Group B in the semi-finals. However, the overall performance of the team still showed many positive signs, especially in the ability to organize attacks and efficiency in finishing.
The big challenge named Indonesia
Compared to the opponents in the group stage, Indonesia is clearly a much bigger challenge for the Vietnamese futsal team. The island nation team is the reigning regional champion and possesses a force with high professional quality and a playing style full of physical strength and speed.
At the 2024 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship, Indonesia once defeated the Vietnamese futsal team with a score of 2-0 in the final to win the regional championship. That defeat is a remarkable memory and also a motivation for the Vietnamese futsal team to aim for a rematch meaningfully reclaiming their position.
Under coach Diego Giustozzi, the Vietnam futsal team is gradually perfecting their playing style in the direction of better ball control and more effective pressing organization. Young players such as Nguyen Da Hai or Nguyen Thac Hieu are showing clear progress, contributing to creating a balance between experience and youth in the squad.
However, to achieve a favorable result against Indonesia, the Vietnamese futsal team needs to improve their defense in set pieces - a weakness revealed in the match against Thailand. In addition, taking advantage of opportunities will also play a decisive role in a knockout match.
In the opposite direction, Indonesia still maintains stable form at this year's tournament and shows efficiency in both attack and defense. A rich physical style, fast pace of transition and high-level pressing ability continue to be the strength of this team.
Coach Diego Giustozzi said: "The Indonesian futsal team has changed a lot and they have shown that in the Asian arena. We may have to face the strongest team in Southeast Asia at the moment. Coach Hector Souto and the Indonesian Football Federation have done a very good job. In the previous tournament, they also won and showed a true, very beautiful futsal style.
However, the Vietnam futsal team continues to have a basis for expectations. What has been shown in the group stage shows that the team is preparing well both professionally and psychologically. If they maintain their focus and take advantage of opportunities well, coach Diego Giustozzi's team can completely make a difference in the important semi-final upcoming.
The match between the Vietnamese futsal team and Indonesia will take place at 5:00 PM on April 10.
