Lunar New Year and China - the last run

Four goals.

It was the last thing we saw from Vietnam as the game in Melbourne went off. Australia was not at the best of their organisation, due to its manager Graham Arnold was hit with COVID-19, and several key players could not board fly on time due to blizzard, for instance Aziz Behich, who was stuck in Giresun and could not return from his ancestral country Turkey to Australia.

Without the full 100% strength and poor perpetration of the Socceroos, yet it was so devastating, Australia demolished Vietnam 4-0. This result was so hard to swallow. Even though everyone generally agreed that Australia would beat Vietnam due to the disparity of the strength, that result was so unbelievable since Australia was at the poorest situation.

But what made it so painful to see was, the loss confirmed Vietnam the first team to be eliminated from the FIFA World Cup qualification in the Asian third round. The only thing Vietnamese could feel happy, well, would be the WCQ served as a perpetration for the upcoming 2023 AFC Asian Cup held in China. And... yeah, China.

Speaking about the giant neighbour in the north, China has always been somewhat special. As written earlier, it is an enemy to many Vietnamese for thousand years, and the desire to bring the gift is even greater than ever. Why?

Well, it occurred on 1 February 2022, coincided with the Lunar New Year's Eve in both Vietnam and China. Let's remember that although Sinosphere countries have moved different ways, with Japan changed to Western Gregorian calendar and South Korea downgraded the importance of this event, this is still the most popular event in Taiwan, China and Vietnam. Except for Taiwan, both China and Vietnam, ran by communists, are historically conservative and adherent to totalitarian ideology. This is also seen by how the Lunar calendar perceived. Rather than moving West, these governments decided to downplay the importance of Gregorian New Year - they do not shun it, but make it less important.

This is why when you visit Vietnam during the earlier months in January or February, people are preparing for their New Year. That cultural influence shared together was basically sustained regardless of time. Today, it has been internationally acknowledged, though this is still only a major event in China, Vietnam and Taiwan, as stated. South Korea, North Korea and Japan are no longer viewing it a big event.

And for some reasons, the chess was played. The AFC designed the game between Vietnam and China to happen on 1 February 2022, coincided with the New Year in Lunar calendar. And this game came in a sensitive situation in relationship between China and Vietnam, as well as China's deteriorating relations with several nations bordering her. While it has not transcended into football as for now, the resentment only grows by time. As I mentioned in the previous post, political problem has long an issue.

The most recent 2022 WCQ saw the situation revealing the gap, although it has no longer been the same, but too painful. Vietnam sat dead last, pointless out of seven games and only has three games to salvage any point, as Vietnam is knocked out of the World Cup dream. China, meanwhile, gained five. However, as China only has three games left to ever rescue its slim World Cup hope, with Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia blasted off the Chinese from the run. Anything but a win will condemn China from ever taking part in the big festival in Qatar.

Surely, the Chinese are in a hurrying situation. When they travelled in Hanoi, the Chinese sealed off all information and training practice. The humiliating 0-2 defeat away to Japan in Saitama hit China hard, as it ended the country's undefeated streak to three. China was totally overpowered by Japan, with only three shots compared to Japan's 15. Let's not forget Chinese state media had condemned China's unconvincing performance, failing to even beat a single powerhouse in the WCQ so far. A win against Vietnam, still, needs China to require Japan and Australia to slip off from their Middle Eastern rivals Saudi Arabia and Oman, and China may count a lot from historical confidence of both the Arab rivals against Japan and Australia.

Therefore, in order to do anything, the Vietnamese must not allow themselves to be fooled. In the game against China in Sharjah, the Chinese deceived Vietnam with a somewhat below-average form in the first half to foment its attack in the second half, ultimately crippled our stamina. China is likely to use the same method against Vietnam this time, so any early goal in the first half for Vietnam is definitely a weapon to pile pressure on the Chinese. When China lost its patience, a necessary move can be applied to strike on the Chinese defence and to force China to take the bite hard.

Lunar New Year is about to come, and this is one of Vietnam's two last chances...