Vietnam National Team and the paradox of artificial turf

How does artificial turf affect?

In the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-final, the Vietnam team will visit Singapore's Jalan Besar Stadium. This is the second time in just over a week that coach Kim Sang-sik and his team have had to play on artificial turf. On December 18, Vietnam struggled to earn 1 point at the Rizal Memorial artificial turf stadium in the Philippines.

Doan Ngoc Tan - the midfielder who scored the equalizer for Vietnam against the Philippines admitted: "The hardness of the pitch and the bounce of the ball on the artificial turf are very uncomfortable. My arms and legs were also scratched after the match."

The fact that Vietnam's national teams at all levels have to play on artificial turf has been mentioned many times in the past 5 years, as the frequency of matches has become more and more frequent.

In 2019, when witnessing the U22 Vietnam men's football competition at the 30th SEA Games at Rizal Memorial, coach Nguyen Duc Thang, from a professional perspective, shared with the media: "The bounce on the artificial turf is different, the ball speed is also different, so the ability to coordinate will be affected. The hard artificial turf leads to the rotation of the players, which has the potential risk of injury, especially for players who often have injuries to the ankle and knee joints."

Most recently, in a television program, midfielder Do Hung Dung of Hanoi club shared the difficulties of playing on artificial turf: "The most difficult thing when playing on this turf is that it is difficult for players to maneuver. Incorrect movements can lead to serious injuries."

Artificial turf has also seen Vietnamese stars suffer injuries. In 2018, goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh broke his arm during an away match at Jalan Besar artificial turf (Singapore) in the AFC Cup. A year later, at the 2019 SEA Games, while playing at Rizal Memorial artificial turf (Philippines), Quang Hai tore his calf in a match against U22 Singapore.

Positive results...

It is a paradox that despite the difficulties each time playing on artificial turf, most of the Vietnamese teams achieved positive results in the end. In 2017, the Vietnamese team under the leadership of interim coach Mai Duc Chung won 2-1 at the Cambodian National Stadium. It is undeniable that the team had difficulties against opponents who were rated lower, but in the end, the "Golden Star Warriors" still had the necessary victory.

In 2019, coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan's U22 Vietnam team won the Bronze Medal at the U22 Southeast Asian Friendly Tournament. At that time, all matches were played on the artificial turf of the Cambodian National Stadium. Apart from the controversial 0-1 defeat to Indonesia in the semi-finals, Phan Thanh Hau and his teammates did not lose in the remaining matches of this tournament.

In the same year, U22 Vietnam, led by coach Park Hang-seo, made history by winning the 30th SEA Games Gold Medal. This achievement was the crystallization of a series of victories by Quang Hai and his teammates against U22 Indonesia, Singapore or Cambodia... on the two artificial fields of Binan and Rizal Memorial in the Philippines.

In 2022, the Vietnam team drew 0-0 with Singapore in the third round of the ASEAN Cup group stage (formerly known as the AFF Cup).

A year ago, when competing in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam team also had a favorable start with a 2-0 victory right at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the Philippines. Most recently, also at the "fortress" of the Philippines, Vietnam, despite a lot of effort, still earned 1 point against this opponent in the group stage of the 2024 ASEAN Cup, creating the premise to win a ticket to the semi-finals.

Basically, artificial turf is a challenge for the Vietnam team. But in terms of results, we have achieved good results when playing on this field.

Meanwhile, Singapore will face a disadvantage when playing at Jalan Besar in the upcoming ASEAN Cup semi-finals. The reason is that in the group stage, the Lion Island team played two matches at the National Stadium - which used a combination of natural and artificial grass. Therefore, when having to switch to Jalan Besar, Singapore players will more or less face difficulties because the pitch is different from the previous journey.