Vietnam men's volleyball team's performance fluctuates

The provisional rankings quickly changed a few hours later. The host Philippines, despite struggling to win 3-2 against the weakest team in the group, Cambodia, was enough to take the top spot from the Vietnamese team on the night of July 12.

Rare bright spot

Things did not stop there. Because, regardless of the results of the final match day (July 13) between the two matches Thailand - Cambodia and Indonesia - Philippines, the Vietnamese team was still "pushed" down to 3rd place overall.

It seems that after losing all 6 matches of the 2 stages of the SEA V.League last season, having to settle for a 4/4 ranking, the Vietnamese team has not improved its ranking much, even though in the first stage this year, they managed to beat the weakest team Cambodia (just promoted) and the strongest team Thailand (reigning champion).

Participating in 3 international tournaments in less than 2 months, the Vietnamese men's volleyball team is still a fragile team in the eyes of fans, with unpredictable performance. Not to mention 2 continental tournaments (AVC Men's Champions League and AVC Nations Cup), Coach Tran Dinh Tien's team is only ranked above rookie Cambodia while stagnating on the rankings of the first stage of SEA V.League 2025 behind familiar opponents in the Southeast Asian region, Thailand and Indonesia!

Bóng chuyền nam Việt Nam phập phù phong độ - Ảnh 1. — Vietnam team (left) has not been able to beat Indonesia after 10 years on all fronts. Photo: AVC

Is this a paradox, because in the past 2 months, the Vietnamese men's team had a draw with the number 1 team in Asia in 2024, Qatar, and only lost after 5 tight games; forced the strong team Korea to sweat with a score of 31-29; beat the reigning SEA V.League champion Thailand in just 4 games but the ranking is still unbelievably sluggish?

Most recently, just one day after creating an "earthquake" with a victory over Thailand, the Vietnamese team lost to Indonesia after 5 intense games, despite the opponent only using 3 strikers Rivan Nurmulki, Farhan Halim and Boy Arnes, without needing to use additional strikers throughout the match. In the opening match, the Vietnamese team also easily lost to the host Philippines in 3 games - something that even the two "Southeast Asian giants" Thailand and Indonesia could not do!

It is not difficult to see that stable performance is still something too luxurious for the Vietnamese volleyball team, although the main players such as Tran Duy Tuyen, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan and Pham Quoc Du always play very well. On a good day, coach Tran Dinh Tien's team can create miracles, but the problem is that such good days do not appear often.

powerless

Stopping right at the group stage of the AVC Men's Champions League, finishing 8th in the AVC Nations Cup after an unfortunate defeat in the qualifying match against Chinese Taipei and ranking 3/5 in the first round of SEA V.League 2025, what does the Vietnamese team expect when the biggest international competitions of the year are almost over?

In the immediate future, Coach Tran Dinh Tien and his team will prepare to move to Indonesia with a very specific goal in the second round of SEA V.League 2025 (taking place from July 16 to 20): Compete for medals. This is not necessarily an out-of-reach goal, if the Vietnamese players can overcome their weaknesses in competitive mentality, hone their fighting spirit and, most importantly, overcome their inferiority complex when facing strong opponents.

Even the coaching staff under coach Tran Dinh Tien is not innocent. Last season, top players like Nguyen Van Quoc Duy and Dinh Van Duy were eliminated for unknown reasons, or absent due to unexplained injuries... This year, the starting lineup of the Vietnamese team is not really stable. The presence of star player T. alone has created a stir in public opinion, because this player serves inconsistently, attacks ineffectively, blocks the ball unsafely, but still appears at key moments.

Improving tactics, adding more physical strength, improving the ability to serve, block and even catch the ball in the first step, the Vietnamese team still has a lot of work to do to soon regain its true position in Southeast Asia, reaching the continental level like its female colleagues with the stormy progress of the past 3 years.

The Vietnamese women's team, with mostly young players, led by coach Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa, won 3-1 against the French U21 team on the opening day of the Future Star 2025 International Volleyball Tournament in Shanghai, China. The team will also meet U21 China (July 14) and U21 Sesi Vôlei Bauru (Brazil, July 15).