Forward’s double help Vietnam claim victory over Afghanistan

Hai was not a new face, as he had his introduction to the fans in the World Cup qualifiers against Oman last year. Since then, he has become an important player in the national team.

In this friendly, coach Park Hang-seo used many new players, along with a few experienced ones.

One of the rookies, defender Adriano Schmidt, had an impressive performance. He had two chances at the beginning but couldn’t convert. But in the 33rd minute, Schmidt left his mark. From a corner taken by Nguyen Quang Hai, Schmidt headed the ball towards Tuan Hai, who easily tapped it in and opened the score for Vietnam.

This game also marked the return of goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, who hasn’t been playing for the national team since September 2021 due to a serious shoulder injury. Lam showed why he’s the number one keeper of the team with five saves, of which he denied two great scoring chances of Mushtaq Ahmadi in the 19th and 55th minutes, one was a powerful finish and the other was a tap-in.

The home fans in Thong Nhat Stadium, HCMC, chanted Lam’s name after these important saves.

Afghanistan were able to beat Lam once, in the additional minute of the second half. Maziar Kouhyar curled the ball into the far corner and Lam couldn’t reach it, but the ball hit the post.

Even if that was a goal, victory would still be secured for Vietnam because a few minutes before that, Tuan Hai scored another. After receiving the ball in the right flank, he turned and sprinted to remove defender Masih Saighani. Hai then tricked the keeper when he pretended to shoot in the far corner but finished on the other side instead.

Vietnam also have other good chances in the game, but couldn’t convert them.

Park said after the game: “In general, I’m satisfied with the new players and also the ones who just returned after injury. In the first half, the team played with the usual 3-5-2 formation. I tried the 4-4-2 formation in the second half, but things didn’t go as planned. The midfield couldn’t maintain possession, so we chose a safe option which is returning to the old formation.”

Afghanistan head coach Anousg Dastgir praised Vietnam for their performance.

“This is a great game, especially for the fans. We lost but created many chances. Things would have been different if we had a goal. I think Vietnam scored really easy and they deserved this win,” Dastgir said.

After this game, the national team will spend time resting and preparing for the 2022 AFF Cup at the end of the year.

 

 

Forward’s double help Vietnam claim victory over Afghanistan

Việt Nam 2-0 Afghanistan