Vietnam team faces 'impossible' mission in 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers

TPO - The Vietnamese team will have to beat Malaysia by at least 4 goals in the second leg if they want to decide their own fate in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Vietnam team almost has no chance to participate in Asian Cup 2027. Photo: Huu Pham

Last night, the Vietnamese team suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat on Malaysia's field in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying match. This defeat caused coach Kim Sang-sik's team to lose the top spot in Group F to their opponents and face an extremely difficult task.

In Group F, Malaysia is the main rival of Vietnam in the race for a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup in the context that Laos and Nepal are much weaker. According to the general assessment of experts, Malaysia and Vietnam will easily win full points from the matches against Laos and Nepal. Therefore, the result of the confrontation between the two teams will decide the top position in the group and the heavy loss at Bukit Jalil leaves Vietnam with very little chance of going further.

According to AFC regulations, when teams are tied on points in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, head-to-head stats will be taken into account before goal difference. That means Vietnam must beat Malaysia by at least four goals in the second leg if they want to have the right to decide their own fate.

There are two scenarios here. If Vietnam beat Malaysia by 4 goals, the head-to-head record between the two teams (points, goal difference, goals scored) will be equal. Then, the next sub-index to be considered is the total goal difference with the remaining opponents in Group F. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team needs to score many goals against Laos and Nepal (2 matches) before thinking about a comeback against Malaysia.

Things would be simpler if Vietnam beat Malaysia by 5 goals or more. Then we would have a better head-to-head record and would certainly win the top spot in the group. However, this is considered an “impossible” task for Vietnam even if we have home field advantage in the second leg.

In addition, another scenario that could help Vietnam get ahead is that Malaysia loses points to Laos or Nepal in the next matches. However, this scenario is even less likely than Vietnam winning big against Malaysia in the second leg. With a high-quality squad of naturalized players, Malaysia promises to become stronger as they have more time to bond.

A Phi

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-doi-mat-nhiem-vu-bat-kha-thi-o-vong-loai-asian-cup-2027-post1750150.tpo