Uzbekistan’s Futsal is even ‘greater’ than Thailand, how does the Vietnamese team overcome it?

In 11-a-side football, Uzbekistan is a familiar opponent with Vietnam at many team levels. In futsal, on the contrary, Vietnam and Uzbekistan have not met in recent years. But in theory, the Uzbekistan futsal team is superior to Vietnam in all parameters, from recent competition achievements as well as rich tradition. Uzbekistan’s futsal team is currently ranked 25th in the world (17 places higher than Vietnam), ranked 3rd in Asia (6 places higher than Vietnam). In the history of 16 Asian futsal championships, Uzbekistan finished runner-up 4 times and won bronze medals 5 times. Meanwhile, the best achievement of the Vietnamese futsal team is only 4th place in the 2016 tournament. At the 2024 Asian Futsal Finals, the Uzbekistan futsal team is performing at a high level, winning all 3 matches in the round. table (ahead of Australia, Iraq and Saudi Arabia).

Uzbekistan is the host of the 2024 Futsal World Cup finals (September 2024), so the country’s futsal team has a place to participate. However, that will not mean that the Uzbekistan futsal team will “lose its footing” against Vietnam. Because, the Central Asian team is highly determined to aim for the continental futsal championship for the first time in history. Regarding the opponent of the Vietnamese futsal team in the quarterfinals, coach Pham Minh Giang commented: “Uzbekistan is a strong team in Asia. They have a good physical foundation. But in my opinion, Uzbekistan’s playing style through 3 matches in the round The table is not really clear. I think partly because of the new coach, the players’ playing style is not very smooth and mature. This is also considered an opportunity for the Vietnamese futsal team.

According to the rankings, the Uzbekistan team is even rated higher than Thailand (which just won 2-1 against Vietnam in the group stage). However, the Vietnamese futsal team may have an easier time playing against representatives from Central Asia. Coach Pham Minh Giang explained: “Thailand and Uzbekistan are both strong teams, with their own strengths. Uzbekistan has a tall body and good physical strength. Thailand is smaller but has good basic technique and high cunning. On the other hand, psychologically, Vietnamese players are not confident when facing Thailand, because they have lost so many times. When meeting Uzbekistan, Vietnamese players’ psychology will be more comfortable very important, contributing to determining the outcome of the match.”

According to coach Pham Minh Giang, the Vietnamese futsal team is improving with each match. Especially in the match against a very strong team like Thailand, Pham Duc Hoa and his teammates played resiliently and alertly to score a goal. However, the Vietnamese futsal team needs to continue to improve in the quarterfinals. “To have good results against Uzbekistan, Vietnamese players need to defend tightly so as not to concede a goal and, importantly, counter-attack must be very sharp. Opportunities must be maximized. Need to take advantage of difficult situations. “If they can do these things, the Vietnamese futsal team can create a surprise against Uzbekistan,” Mr. Giang said.

Meeting Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals is considered to increase the chances for the Vietnamese futsal team to win tickets to the World Cup. If they win against Uzbekistan, the Vietnamese futsal team will enter the semi-finals of the 2024 Asian tournament and go straight to the World Cup. If they lose to Uzbekistan, coach Giustozzi’s team still has a chance to compete for tickets, when the four losing teams in the quarterfinals will play a play-off to determine another spot in the World Cup.