Waiting for Tien Linh's charm

The lucky draw in the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia has put Vietnam’s football team in the same group with China. This is the opponent that Vietnam’s U22 football team defeated 2-0 in Wuhan with a double goal from Tien Linh.

That match took place in early September 2019 in Wuhan, China. At that time, the U22 football team did not have the strongest force because priority had to be given to Vietnam’s football team to participate in the 2022 World Cup qualifying round. However, under the direction of coach Park Hang-Seo, the young men had a victory 2-0 against China. In this match, coach Park Hang-Seo let Vietnam’s U22 football team enter with the 3-4-3 familiar tactical format. The tight control of the ball in the midfield made China’s U22 football team not have many opportunities to approach the goal of goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung. It was also the match that Tien Linh had an impressive performance.

Tien Linh is currently the leading striker of Vietnamese football team

During the 90 minutes of this match, the two wings of Vietnam’s U22 football team with the mobility of two fullbacks continuously created dangerous stops. At the opening goal of 1-0, Ho Tan Tai received a long pass from his teammates, returning the ball to the right foot for Tien Linh to skillfully kick the ball into the far corner. In the situation of scoring to set the 2-0 score, the assistant for Tien Linh was also an old teammate at Becamex Binh Duong. This time, Ho Tan Tai did not pass back, but stretched thinly into the gap right before the 5m50 round to help Tien Linh easily buffer the ball to score a goal when the Chinese defenders were too open.

Two years have passed since the date of the above match, the results of the draw for the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia put Vietnam in the same group with China in Group B. After 2 years, Tien Linh from a young talent who has matured and is the main striker of Vietnamese football team with 5 goals scored after the phase 2. Hence, home fans have the right to hope and wait for the striker wearing the Becamex Binh Duong shirt will continue showing his charm on Chinese football team's goal, thereby helping Vietnamese football team continue getting the best results in the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. According to the schedule, Vietnamese football team will face Chinese football team on October 7, 2021. The second leg between the two football teams will take place on February 1, 2022, which falls on the first day of the Lunar (New Year) festival 2022 at My Dinh Stadium.

Reported by Hung Cuong-Translated by K.T