Fox Sports Asia has given the Vietnam national team a score of B-, below average, as it assessed how well each ASEAN team performed in the opening two matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers.
The newspaper said: “It is definitely tough to really judge Vietnam given that they were the only ASEAN team to have played just one game.
But considering the strides they have made recently , coupled with the fact that Thailand were far from their best, the Vietnamese really should have claimed done better than last Thursday’s 0-0 draw.
Granted, it was an away encounter, but the Thammasat Stadium is hardly the most imposing place in the region, and a victory would have seen them make a huge statement that they are now the dominant force in Southeast Asian football.
Nonetheless, this is a supremely squad side under a well-proven coach in Park Hang-seo, and they should be looking to get up and running against Malaysia and Indonesia next month.”
FOX Sports rated the Philippines and Malaysia the best performing teams with an A, followed by Thailand with an A-. Singapore, the temporary group G winner, was given B+ while Cambodia was evaluated with a B. The two lowest scoring teams are Myanmar and Indonesia with a C and C- respectively.
According to the World Cup 2022 qualifiers schedule, Vietnam will take on Malaysia in Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium on October 10 while Indonesia will travel to the UAE.
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