🇨🇳 CHINA PR vs. VIETNAM 🇻🇳

International Friendly

Tuesday 10th October – 11:00am BST

BET 1 ⚽️ Vietnam or Draw

💷 1.5pt

Best Odds: 2.87 at Betfair/Paddy Power

BET 2 ⚽️ Vietnam win

💷 0.5pt

Best Odds: 8.00 at BetVictor

It’s 80th vs. 95th in the FIFA World Rankings as China host neighbours Vietnam in a friendly while they await their opponents in the World Cup Qualifying groups.  These rankings, in my opinion, hold little significance when assessing international matches.  For one, Kazakhstan are currently in 100th place (not for long…) and those boys could tear these apart, I’m sure.  However, I’ll list these if you wish to place these in your thoughts before betting.

However, just a cautious play on this for two reasons, for one this is a friendly, and secondly, knowledge on the majority of their squads is very low, although you may recognise a defender for China – former Everton and Sunderland defender, Tyias Browning. But looking at the away side’s form, I can’t resist this.

Not too long ago, in February 2022, Vietnam secured a 3-1 victory over China in an Asian Cup qualifying match. This win served as a form of retribution for Vietnam after they had experienced a narrow 3-2 defeat at the hands of China just a few months earlier in October 2021. The 3-1 victory effectively dashed China’s aspirations of participating in the Asian Cup finals scheduled for January 2024 in Qatar.

Both teams had a challenging campaign, finishing at the bottom of their qualifying group and significantly behind the top four. Vietnam concluded their campaign in last place with 4 points from 10 matches, while China occupied the position just above them with 6 points. Both conceded 19 goals, with China managing to notch just one more goal than their Vietnamese counterparts, tallying 9 goals over the course of the 10 games.

Recently, the Chinese experienced a 1-0 defeat against Syria (FIFAWR 93) in a friendly, while just a few days earlier they secured a 1-1 draw against Malaysia (FIFAWR 134), both home games. China’s main worry seems to lie in their ability to convert scoring opportunities into goals. During their loss to Syria, China launched 17 attempts on goal, with 7 of them hitting the target, yet they failed to find the back of the net, whereas Syria managed to score from their solitary shot on target out of three attempts.

Similarly, in the match against Malaysia, China recorded 16 shots, but only 4 were on target, resulting in just one goal being scored. It’s worth noting that China did manage to secure victories in June, defeating Palestine (FIFAWR 97) with a score of 2-0 and the poor Myanmar (FIFAWR 161) with a 4-0 victory.

Vietnam, who installed Philippe Troussier* as manager in February this year, are an emerging nation dominating the Asian youth tournaments the last few years.  The seniors have been in excellent form, securing victories in their last three friendly matches, including two with the Frenchman as manager. Their triumphs include a 1-0 win over Syria and a similar 1-0 win against Hong Kong in June with a 2-0 victory over Palestine just last month. Their only setback in recent times was in the Asian AFF Championships finals against Thailand (FIFAWR 112), where they narrowly lost 3-2 on aggregate, with the decisive 1-0 defeat occurring in the second leg.

However, when you delve further into Vietnam’s recent record, it is truly impressive. In their last 17 international matches, the loss to Thailand is their sole defeat, with an impressive 12 wins among those results. Some standout performances include a 1-1 draw against Japan on the road, a commanding 3-0 win over Malaysia, and a notable 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, featuring prominent first-teamers such as Mats Hummels, Emre Can, Donyell Malen and Felix Passlack.

Given their impressive recent form and solid performances, Vietnam emerges as a team worthy of our attention as they approach the upcoming World Cup qualification and especially the Asian Cup early next year. They find themselves drawn in qualification group F alongside Iraq, the Philippines, and the winner of the Indonesia-Brunei play-off.  I am happy betting on Vietnam to secure at least a draw in this clash with China.  The pivotal factor I feel will be whether the Chinese team can find their shooting boots – hopefully not.

* Troussier has a wealth of international managerial experience, having overseen the national teams of Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Japan. His achievements include guiding the Japanese national team to the last 16 in the 2002 World Cup, an accomplishment that earned him an induction into the Japanese Hall of Fame.

Good luck!

WILL BURNS

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