Vũ Văn Thanh (centre) and his teammates struggle against a physically greater Russian team. VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

Anh Đức

The match between Việt Nam and Russia marked the first time a Việt Nam senior team faced off against an elite national team since Brazil in 2008, and 16 years on the result was no difference: a decisive victory for the favourites.

However, more could be said about the friendly than just the results.

Firstly, 16 years on, the perception of European teams about Southeast Asian football has still not changed. Many Russian pundits and former players voiced their opinions on why both Việt Nam and Thailand, opponents of Sbornaya are inferior in class to the EURO 1960 Champions. For European teams, only Japan and South Korea are worth looking at in Asia, and it took a heck of a lot of work over decades for these teams to get to where they are now.

Compared to Japan and South Korea, ASEAN football nations have not had the chance to routinely square up against high-level football nations in Europe and South America. These matches, despite the difference in strength, could teach the players and the football officials a lot to learn, and a greater exposure to other footballing strategies and philosophies.

While friendlies such as last Thursday's match can be a way, they are tricky to schedule. ASEAN nations must find a way to participate in international competitions such as the World Cup. Take the Việt Nam women's national team, for example, a chance to be in the same group and play the 2019 World Cup finalists in the United States and the Netherlands is almost impossible, had they not made it to the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Last week, an ASEAN team inched their way a step closer to that grand goal: Indonesia, by bravely holding giants Saudi Arabia to a draw in Riyadh. Indonesia's journey is being closely watched by the whole of Southeast Asia, and their way of developing football, should it prove to be fruitful, is being studied by other nations in the region, ready to replicate.

But there is much more to be said.

Sixteen years after facing Brazil, the pitch quality of the Mỹ Đình Stadium is even worse. Sure Đặng Văn Lâm was to blame mostly for the second goal, but replays showed that the ball bounced on the pitch and changed its trajectory, leading to a hilarious situation where Lâm miskicked it. A player with experience playing abroad in Japan, Thailand and Russia, I bet that Lâm never had these kinds of problems playing on pitches in Osaka, Nonthaburi and Moscow.

If we want our players to play up to World Cup quality, the conditions must first be of World Cup quality. This should be the normal in all stadiums, and not just in the National Stadium.

Việt Nam, Thailand and Indonesia have a chance to win the ASEAN Championship in December, but it should not stop there. There is, there will and there should be much more work to be done. VNS