Vietnam team's opponent causes shock before 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers

The Vietnamese team cannot be subjective against opponents considered weak.

In the 3rd qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, in the opening match, Nepal will meet Malaysia at 9:00 p.m. on March 25 at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. Meanwhile, Vietnam will host Laos at 7:30 p.m. on the same day at Binh Duong Stadium.

The Vietnamese team just beat the Cambodian team with a score of 2-1.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

The fact that Nepal (ranked 175th in the world) unexpectedly shocked everyone by defeating Singapore (ranked 160th in the world) right at the National Stadium in front of 5,078 spectators left everyone stunned. This was the first time Nepal defeated Singapore after 4 previous matches.

Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura warned: "If we play like this, we cannot win against any team. In one year here, this is the worst match we have ever played, worse than the 7-0 loss to the Korean team."

The Japanese strategist also assessed the Nepal team: "They played much better than before. We were nothing. There was no fight, and we played very individually, not as a team, unlike Nepal. They wanted to win, they wanted to protect their goal, they treated this friendly match as a competitive match."

Remember, in the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2024, the Vietnamese team met the Singapore team, and coach Kim Sang-sik and his team had to make great efforts to win the two matches with scores of 2-0 and 3-1 to reach the final. Then, they beat the Thai team with a total score of 5-3 to win the championship.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and the Vietnamese team cannot be complacent against opponents Laos or Nepal.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

The Vietnamese team just had a warm-up match before the 3rd qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, winning against Cambodia with a relatively difficult score of 2-1. The upcoming match, the Vietnamese team will meet Laos, an opponent considered weak in the same group as Nepal.

However, with the recent progress of Laos and Nepal, it seems that the two strongest opponents in Group F, Vietnam and Malaysia, need to be extremely cautious.

Malaysia will be the first team to test the fire against Nepal in the debut match of new coach Peter Cklamovski. As for Vietnam, after the match against Laos, in June they will have a decisive match against Malaysia on away field, when this opponent will also have additional naturalized players.

In October, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will have two consecutive matches with Nepal, including the home leg (October 9) and the away leg (October 14).

In the same region, in a friendly match before the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, the Thai team easily won Afghanistan with a score of 2-0, both goals scored by Swedish striker Patrik Gustavsson. The Thai team will meet Sri Lanka in Group D on March 25 at home.