INDONESIA- According to goalkeeper Filip Nguyen, Indonesia has a stronger squad of naturalized players and home field advantage, but Vietnam is strong enough to score points in today's match.
"Indonesia is currently stronger than before, with a series of naturalized players. Therefore, Vietnam will have difficulty meeting them in two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Especially in the first leg, when Indonesia will play at home with the support of nearly 80,000 spectators. The pressure on us will be huge. However, I believe Vietnam can overcome the challenge. We will have points to continue our journey," Filip Nguyen told VnExpress on March 20 .
Filip Nguyen in the Vietnamese national team jersey at the 2023 Asian Cup. Photo: Lam Thoa
Indonesia has only one point in Group F after losing 1-5 to Iraq and drawing 1-1 to the Philippines. In the next two matches, the archipelago team will play two consecutive matches against Vietnam - the team with three points. The first leg will take place at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium at 8:30 p.m. today, March 21, and the second leg will take place at My Dinh Stadium five days later. Coach Shin Tae-yong aims to help Indonesia beat Vietnam in both matches, while scoring many goals and keeping a clean sheet.
Coach Shin's confidence comes from the fact that he has a series of naturalized players from Europe, mainly the Netherlands. Although they did not have time to use Thom Haye and Ragnar Oratmangoen, they still have nine players born and raised abroad, including defenders Shayne Pattynama, Jordi Amat, Sandy Walsh, Justin Hubner, Jay Idzes, Nathan Tjoe Aon, midfielders Marc Klok, Ivar Jenner and striker Rafael Struick.
Coach Shin is also confident because he just beat Vietnam 1-0 at the 2023 Asian Cup. This is the first victory of the Korean coach against Vietnamese teams, since he came to work in Indonesia in 2020. It also helped the team from the archipelago break an eight-year streak of draws and losses to Vietnam.
However, Filip Nguyen believes that Vietnam did not play badly in that match in January, and only lost to Indonesia due to bad luck. "The goal that day came from a penalty kick. The penalty situation also came from the fact that we had many young, inexperienced players," the goalkeeper said.
Filip Nguyen's father is Vietnamese and his mother is Czech. He became a naturalized Vietnamese citizen on December 19, 2023, and the 2023 Asian Cup is the first tournament in which this goalkeeper will play for the Vietnamese national team. Although the team was eliminated early with three losses, Filip Nguyen still left an impression with his good footwork and many saves.
At the 2023 Asian Cup, Vietnam lost 0-1 to Indonesia in the second round of the group stage. The goal came in the 41st minute when Thanh Binh pulled Struick's shirt in the penalty area even though the Indonesian player was in a difficult position to shoot.
Lam Thoa - Vnexpress.net
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