Vietnam team has difficulty finding quality 'green troops' before AFF Cup?

Coach Kim Sang-sik needs time

"If we prepare well, the Vietnamese team is capable of achieving good results and winning the AFF Cup," coach Kim Sang-sik shared at the draw ceremony on May 21. The Korean coach repeated the phrase "need to prepare carefully" three times in three answers.

That is also the key point that Mr. Kim Sang-sik needs. At the AFF Cup 2024, the Vietnamese team will face big obstacles such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia or the Philippines. Not to mention the progress of the opponents in recent times such as naturalizing players, changing head coaches, the Vietnamese team needs to focus on internal matters. We must prepare carefully, if we do not want to let the goals slip away.

Pressure surrounds Mr. Kim Sang-sik

The preparation process will be two-pronged. First, the national championship will still play an important role, as 100% of the current national team players are playing domestically. The V-League's switch to a competition model spanning two calendar years, combined with the tournament density lasting until the end of the year (except for the break between the two seasons in July and August), will help players have a good feel for the ball.

However, in terms of the national team, coach Kim Sang-sik needs training sessions to impart philosophy, spirit and playing style to the players. The Vietnamese team needs to play friendly matches, even practice continuously to help the players understand Mr. Kim's playing style, as well as the Korean coach grasp the players' level to choose the optimal squad for the AFF Cup 2024.

Remember, the AFF Cup is a short tournament, with 8 matches (if reaching the final) taking place in less than a month. This requires teams to prepare their forces and be in good form if they do not want to stumble.

Not easy to find opponents

When coach Philippe Troussier was in charge, the Vietnamese team played 6 friendly matches in 5 months, before entering the official tournament. Those were all very high-quality matches, especially the matches against Syria, Uzbekistan, China and South Korea. Coach Troussier is also the strategist with the highest frequency of friendly matches with the Vietnamese team.

Under coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnamese team has played friendlies with a "thinner" frequency. However, thanks to competing in both the 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds of the 2022 World Cup, there were up to 18 matches within the framework of FIFA Days in the 2019 - 2022 period alone. Continuous competition also helps players accumulate experience and make significant progress during this period.

The Vietnamese team needs testing matches for Mr. Kim to evaluate his students.

However, the situation will be more difficult for coach Kim Sang-sik. Because it is almost certain that they will stop early in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Vietnamese team will only participate in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers starting in March 2025. This means that from September to mid-November with 3 FIFA Days, Mr. Kim Sang-sik's students will not have any official matches.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) needs to find quality friendly opponents for the Vietnamese team, but it will not be simple, because this is also the period when strong teams in Asia will enter the third qualifying round, so there are no free schedules for friendly matches.

Among them, there are likely to be top teams such as Korea, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Syria, China, Qatar, Iran, Iraq or UAE. Teams of Vietnam's level such as Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, India also have a good chance of entering the third qualifying round. Therefore, inviting these teams to play is almost impossible.

The Vietnamese team may have to be satisfied with lower-level "blue troops" in the coming period, such as Singapore or the Philippines. This is a disadvantage for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team compared to Indonesia - a team that will have 6 very high-quality matches in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers to compete before entering the AFF Cup.

However, the Vietnamese team needs to "cut their coat according to their cloth" and use that as motivation to return soon. Hopefully, coach Kim Sang-sik will prepare the best he can to help his players overcome the storm at the AFF Cup.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-kho-tim-quan-xanh-chat-luong-truoc-aff-cup-185240523110243327.htm