(18-12-2024, 12:06 AM)Everything Everywhere Wrote: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/fo...122024_cna
The 2024 ASEAN Championship is writing a script that no one predicted from the beginning. With contenders Malaysia and Indonesia knocked out from the group stage, Singapore and Philippines joined top-seeded Việt Nam and Thailand as the region's best four teams, and the results in the first leg showed that they were no pushover.
Let's go over Singapore first, who held Việt Nam to a standstill until the final minutes of added time.
Their coach, Tsutomu Ogura, did what he promised before the match: creating difficulties for the on-form rising star Nguyễn Xuân Son, who was menacing against Myanmar.
Stats-wise, Singapore held on to 67 per cent of possession in the first leg match at Jalan Besar, and had double the amount of passes made, with a whopping 80 per cent pass completion rate.
ViệtNam had most of their passes against Myanmar at home and also in Singapore launched towards Xuân Son, whose athletic ability made him suited to catch onto those passes where defenders could not reach.
Singapore's plan was then simple: keep the ball on the ground, keep possession, and stop long balls from reaching the tall striker. The plan was executed well, with Singapore even having dangerous chances in the latter part of the second half. Mentality and focus were what hindered the Lions from securing a draw at home, a problem that has surfaced since the 2-4 loss against Thailand in the group stage, a match where they led 2-0 against the giant and could have gotten away with a victory.
A clumsy last-minute penalty and an ignorant defensive mistake made the task for Singapore in the second leg way more difficult, a task that The Straits Times' Deepanraj Ganesan compared to "climbing the mountain ranges of Xuân Sơn National Park in Phú Thọ".
Thailand's match against S'pore is perhaps this tournament's best match & also a principal talking point in this article. The Thais almost lost control of the game & the entire match after going down 0-2 in the opening minutes.