Vietnam's highlight 3-0 Bangladesh: Hoàng Hên's promising debut, Vietnam team ready to face Malaysia

The opponent Bangladesh was very weak and Vietnam team won easily 3-0. Hoàng Hên's debut was promising and we had a good practice to prepare for the match against Malaysia.

Hoàng Hên's promising start, though not scoring

In his first match for Vietnam team, Đỗ Hoàng Hên had a promising performance. He connected well with teammates like Hoàng Đức, Hai Long, Tuấn Hải. He moved intelligently and played the role of a "decoy" attracting defenders to create space for teammates to shoot.

In the first half, Hoàng Hên had a shot that missed the goal and a nice pass to Hải Long for a close-range shot facing Bangladesh's goalkeeper. Hoàng Hên also made a nice pass for Tuấn Hải to break through but was incorrectly called offside.

In the first half, Hoàng Hên played as a forward; in the second half, he dropped back to play as a central midfielder alongside Lê Phạm Thành Long. He continued to perform well. Notably, Hoàng Hên had a left-footed curling shot that hit the post of Bangladesh's goal.

Overall, all that Hoàng Hên lacked in this debut match was a goal. The naturalized Brazilian-born player had a good debut for Vietnam team even though he didn't score or assist.

Vietnam team hasn't faced a real challenge

A very comfortable match for goalkeeper Văn Lâm and the red-shirted defenders, while our midfielders and forwards also comfortably coordinated and shot.

Coach Kim Sang Sik comfortably experimented with personnel. Hoàng Hên, Ngọc Bảo, Văn Hậu, Lê Phạm Thành Long… all got opportunities alongside familiar faces like Tuấn Hải, Duy Mạnh, Văn Vĩ, Trương Tiến Anh, and Hoàng Đức.

Most of our players, whether newcomers or veterans, whether starters or substitutes, played steadily. The rare low note might be Khuất Văn Khang when he made some unreasonable moves after being substituted, causing Vietnam team to miss an opportunity to score more goals.

That's how it looks. But in reality, we cannot be sure if the players truly performed well because Bangladesh is weak exactly as their FIFA ranking position (78 places below Vietnam team).

The opponent couldn't attack effectively, couldn't defend effectively, so our players weren't put under real pressure and we cannot accurately know their current form.

A comfortable practice for the match against Malaysia

Vietnam team has already qualified for the 2027 Asian Cup Finals, but we will still approach the match against Malaysia on March 31 with a serious attitude.

After receiving a heavy penalty (a 0-3 forfeit) for using an ineligible naturalized player, Malaysia surely wants to prove their strength even without using naturalized players.

Therefore, Vietnam team naturally must remain in a high state of readiness for this encounter. Though the exact form cannot be assessed, the easy victory over Bangladesh gives our players a comfortable, confident mindset heading into the match against Malaysia.