Coach Phạm Minh Đức: 'Vietnam played poorly against Bangladesh when missing...'

Coach Phạm Minh Đức highlighted the crucial role of Vietnam's core pair in the win against Bangladesh.

With a decisive victory in the friendly match against Bangladesh, the Vietnam national team had a perfect warm-up for the final showdown with Malaysia in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

However, the performance against Bangladesh still did not satisfy Coach Phạm Minh Đức. Specifically, he believed Vietnam lost momentum in the second half, especially after midfielders Quang Hải and Hoàng Đức left the field. According to this strategist, the absence of these two key figures forced naturalized star Hoàng Hên to play out of position, significantly limiting the team's attacking support capabilities.

Coach Phạm Minh Đức shared: "In the first half, we saw the Vietnam team play more cohesively. I think that without Hoàng Đức and Quang Hải in midfield, we lacked ball control, creative passing, and organized attacks.

There were moments when Lê Phạm Thành Long and Hoàng Hên had to drop back, especially Hoàng Hên, which was difficult because he is an attacking player. Therefore, I believe if playing a formation with Hoàng Hên and Xuân Son, we should use a 4-2-3-1 system, which could optimize effectiveness.

We saw in the second half, when Coach Kim Sang Sik really wanted to create opportunities for these two players to play together, but without Hoàng Đức and Quang Hải, it became very difficult..."

Additionally, the 1976-born coach also said the match against Malaysia in late March would be "much more difficult" than the recent friendly at Hàng Đẫy Stadium. Furthermore, he expressed doubts about Vietnam's playing style, despite having two high-quality naturalized players in the squad.

He added: "I think the match on March 31 against Malaysia will be a more challenging game than tonight's match with Bangladesh. But I believe through the two halves, Coach Kim Sang Sik has already prepared the lineup for the match against Malaysia.

There will be adjustments to fully utilize strengths, and he also observed how difficult it is to develop attacks without players like Quang Hải and Hoàng Đức, and how to escape high pressing from opponents, how to connect.

I noticed in the second half, Xuân Son came on but had very few balls to play because Bangladesh players pushed high right near the 16.5m area. Therefore, even long direct passes forward couldn't retain possession. That is something I think Coach Kim Sang Sik definitely wouldn't want to play in the Malaysia match.

There also need to be positions to receive the ball, to pass and coordinate in small groups on both wings, then connect with Hoàng Hên and Xuân Son up front. That is what the fans and the coach want, even the team wants to play to have combinations, to score goals, and to regain possession from opponents.

Of course, with our outstanding individuals, we created situations in the second half, but the overall playing style I think will be different against Malaysia, and the personnel will also be different."

After the aforementioned victory, Coach Kim Sang Sik and his players will move to Ninh Bình for a familiarization session at Thiên Trường Stadium. Although already officially securing a spot in the 2027 Asian Cup finals, the Vietnam national team will certainly aim for victory for the flag and jersey, while asserting strength against Malaysia's star lineup.

The match between the Vietnam national team and the Malaysia national team will take place at 19:00 on March 31.