CONTROL OF THE BALL IS COMPLETELY BROKE

We should not be mistaken about the ball control index. Vietnam's ball control rate in the whole match was 57% compared to Indonesia's 43%. Even in the first half, when the match seemed balanced, Vietnam only had 4 shots and only 1 header on target but it was too weak. Meanwhile, the opponent had 9 situations threatening the opponent's goal and if Nguyen Filip was not excellent, the number of goals conceded could be more than 1.

More importantly, the short, tight, and beautiful style of play was completely ruined by the pressing pressure of the Indonesian team. The passing accuracy rate of Tuan Anh and his teammates in this match was only 75% (while in the match against Japan it was 81%). This was also the match in which the Vietnamese team made the most long passes under coach Troussier (79 times) so far and the accuracy was also at the lowest level (23 times = 29%). It showed the deadlock of a system when the strong playing style was predicted, completely neutralized and the coaching staff was not ready for options 2 and 3.

After the defeat, the players shared that they were surprised and confused by the pressure and high pressing ability of Indonesia. This information shows 3 things: first, the Vietnamese team was not well prepared, the ability to analyze, assess the opponent, make predictions, read the game and the expected plans of Coach Troussier was also not good and somewhat subjective. Second, despite practicing very carefully, the ability to control the ball and escape pressing in the home third of the field of the Vietnamese team was not good. What was shown in the match against Japan was just a moment of sublimation and the opponent was also somewhat subjective and did not show all its strength. And the last factor is that Coach Troussier's choice of people was not accurate: Thanh Binh's personal error, Thai Son's confusion, Tuan Anh's weakness, Quang Hai's confusion and Van Tung's clumsiness. All of these created confusion and helplessness.

N DISADVANTAGES OF YOUNG PEOPLE

In both matches at the 2023 Asian Cup, Vietnam took the field with a starting lineup with an average age of 25.1 or 25.2, one of the youngest teams in this tournament. And once again, the performances of Coach Troussier's students showed the inconsistency of young players.

The first case is central defender Thanh Binh, who made serious mistakes in the first leg against China in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. He has shown steady and steady progress over the past time, but in the match against Indonesia, he made a very crude foul on the opposing striker right in the penalty area. The problem is that it was a very elementary mistake that had been carefully and meticulously trained in the first lessons. It shows that Thanh Binh's mentality is in an unstable state, and if you observe a little more closely, you will see that Binh was the worst player in the defense in the match against Japan with shaky and unconfident handling.

The second case is Thai Son, a player who has made rapid progress in recent times. The player considered to be Mr. Troussier's most satisfactory product also had a bad match when he lost the ball 6 times in the first half alone. Van Tung, Tuan Tai, Minh Trong also showed their weaknesses and limitations in handling the ball individually as well as connecting with teammates.

IN MISSION OF HOANG DUC , HUNG DUNG

And another reason why young players lose themselves is because they do not have support from veterans, from real leaders. Without Que Ngoc Hai in the defense, it feels like everyone is playing for themselves. The person with the best commanding ability is Nguyen Filip. In the midfield, Tuan Anh has not yet achieved his best form, so it is difficult to demand support for others. At that time, I suddenly missed... Hoang Duc (he was injured so he did not attend the Asian Cup), Hung Dung (he was on the bench and was not used for a single minute) - veterans full of courage and also very experienced in top matches, against tough opponents.

A comprehensive defeat and of course, along with many lessons. But the biggest problem is that while Indonesia and Thailand have persisted in their direction for many years with specific, precise, quality directions and aimed at modern playing styles, updated with world football, it seems that Vietnamese football is still struggling to shape its playing style, confused with player experiments, amid vague beliefs about the old and young generations. The defeat shows that the opponent is stable and progressing, while we are struggling and disoriented. That is the most worrying thing.