Mind you, Hull made five changes from the side that performed so lamely at Wembley.
The Birmingham manager changed 10 players from the side that had won their previous game against Nottingham Forest.
Moreover, the current Vietnamese government is descended from the side that won the war, a condition much less conducive to irony than America's experience of quagmire and defeat.
It was a defeat for Meulensteen although this was a much improved Fulham from the side that have been capitulating for too long.
We were slow, sloppy and a far cry from the side that has already pulled off shock results at Chelsea and Liverpool this season.
Place the bait before you set the trap, and once it's set, handle it from the side that is opposite the bait.
The home side made three changes from the side that went out of the League Cup against Rangers on Tuesday and it did the trick.
The starting line-up is otherwise unchanged from the side that came within 35 seconds of securing a draw with the world champions last week.
Fulham made six changes from the side that won at Norwich on Boxing Day with match-winner Scott Parker among the players rested and Dimitar Berbatov still injured.
He had made nine changes from the side that started against South Africa but unfamiliarity did not explain Wales's myriad mistakes.
One of their many crowd-pleasers, Phil Christophers, is still unavailable, so Bristol are unchanged from the side that lost disappointingly to Harlequins last week.
