Why didn't the Vietnamese team use a center forward to play against Malaysia? There's a reason!

Necessity is the mother of invention

In many consecutive rounds of V-League 2024-2025, Tien Linh did not score for Binh Duong Club. This makes experts and domestic football fans worried about the performance of the 2024 Vietnam Golden Ball and worry about the scoring efficiency of the Vietnam team.

Tien Linh is not in good form at the moment.

Photo: Minh Tu

In addition to Tien Linh, the Vietnamese team currently has another striker who often plays in the center forward position, Dinh Thanh Binh. However, at the national team level, the striker who is currently playing for Ninh Binh Club rarely plays well, he rarely becomes a reliable striker. Therefore, few people expect Dinh Thanh Binh to shine. In that context, coach Kim Sang-sik may use a formation without a center forward to face Malaysia.

This is the strategy that the Korean coach used in the friendly match against Cambodia in March, at Binh Duong Stadium. At that time, Tuan Hai, Quang Hai and Hai Long were the highest players in the squad. However, none of these three players played too close to the opponent's penalty area. All three moved wide, playing close to the home team's midfield.

Coach Kim Sang-sik's experiment was successful. Both goals of the Vietnamese team were scored quite early, thanks to Hai Long in the 26th minute and Van Vi in the 35th minute. This proves that the players playing in the Vietnamese team's attack coordinated well, quickly found gaps in the opponent's defense and exploited them.

Vietnam team will surprise Malaysia

The success of Coach Kim Sang-sik's plan to not use a striker also comes from the excellence of Hai Long and Quang Hai in the new position of winger. Both of these players are rich in technique, plus good tactical vision. Hai Long and Quang Hai can both operate well independently and coordinate well with teammates around them, thereby creating opportunities for the Vietnamese team in the attacks on the opponent's goal.

Hai Long (17) is a new solution for the strikers.

Photo: Phuc Thang

Quang Hai (19) is also in very good form.

Photo: Minh Tu

Hai Long alone has scored in the last 4 consecutive matches of the Vietnamese team, including the second leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final in January, the friendly match with Cambodia in March, the match against Laos in the Asian Cup qualifiers in March and the practice match with the U.23 Vietnam team a few days ago. That proves that Hai Long is very suitable when pushed up high, playing as a winger.

In addition to Hai Long and Quang Hai, another player who has been tested well in the winger position is Chau Ngoc Quang. The player currently playing for HAGL Club scored continuously in the last 2 matches, including the match against Laos in March and the practice match against U.23 Vietnam before the whole team left for Malaysia.

The fact that Hai Long, Quang Hai, and Chau Ngoc Quang play in new positions compared to their own at the AFF Cup could also be the option that coach Kim Sang-sik wants to bring a surprise to Malaysia. The team nicknamed Harimau Malaya has not had much information about the new positions of the above mentioned players.

The more surprises the Vietnamese team has, the harder it will be for Malaysia to deal with us, thereby increasing the chances of victory for coach Kim Sang-sik's team. Who knows, there may be a silver lining in the bad luck. The lack of a striker in top form at the moment will help coach Kim Sang-sik be more decisive in using a squad without a striker, thereby finding new ways to approach the opponent's goal!

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tai-sao-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-khong-dung-trung-phong-de-dau-malaysia-co-ly-do-ca-day-185250606194733734.htm