Coach Klinsmann: 'Vietnam is not weak'

South Korea Before the friendly match at Suwon Stadium, coach Jurgen Klinsmann expressed his respect for Vietnam and affirmed that South Korea needs to face diverse opponents.

*Korea - Vietnam: 6pm Tuesday October 17, on VnExpress.

"I think Vietnam is not weak at all," coach Klinsmann said at a press conference on the afternoon of October 16. "I plan to approach it like an official match to test how complete the team is and what needs to be improved."

The German coach believes that Korea can face Vietnam in official tournaments, such as the 2023 Asian Cup round of 16 or the 2026 World Cup third qualifying round. Therefore, the players will have an idea of the opponent through this friendly match to be ready to face them in official tournaments.

Coach Klinsmann at a press conference before the Korea - Vietnam match on October 16. Photo: Yonhap — Coach Klinsmann at a press conference before the Korea - Vietnam match on October 16. Photo: *Yonhap*

Klinsmann's opinion this time is different from the press conference in September. At that time, he said that Korea needed to face strong opponents instead of Vietnam. Korean public opinion also underestimated Vietnam and thought that the home team might not learn many lessons from this friendly match.

In the past, Korea met Vietnam six times. They won five, and lost one (0-1 in 2003, in the 2004 Asian Cup qualifiers with the only goal from Pham Van Quyen). Currently, Korea is ranked 26th in FIFA, 69 places higher than Vietnam.

In fact, South Korea does not have many options because European and South American teams are busy competing in the Euro 2024 qualifiers or the 2026 World Cup. In addition, choosing Vietnam also helps South Korea adapt to similar opponents from Southeast Asia. In the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, they are in the same group with Thailand, and in the group stage of the 2024 Asian Cup, they are in the same group with Malaysia.

Coach Klinsmann said he planned to field a strong lineup and make the most of his six substitutions. "We have to maintain continuity and sustainability in the squad," he said. "The other important thing is to give opportunities to those who don't get much playing time."

Regarding the squad, the German coach said that he left open the possibility of captain Son Heung-min and midfielder Hwang In-beom playing. Both will be tested one last time after training this afternoon, before the coaching staff decides whether to use them or not. Coach Klinsmann also added that even if their physical condition is not guaranteed, the best players must still gather to absorb the philosophy and goals together. In 2023, this will only be the fourth gathering of South Korea with about 40 days, so he wants to make the most of the time.

Before this match, Vietnam had just suffered two consecutive losses against China and Uzbekistan with the same score of 0-2. Meanwhile, South Korea defeated the strong representative of Africa, Tunisia, 4-0.

Klinsmann was born in 1964, is a legendary German striker who scored 47 goals in 108 matches for the national team, won the 1990 World Cup, Euro 1996. His club career spanned many famous places such as Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Tottenham, Bayern Munich... with 232 goals in 514 matches.

During his coaching career, he led the German and US national teams, along with two clubs: Bayern Munich in the 2008-2009 season and Hertha BSC in the 2019-2020 season. Klinsmann was appointed by the Korea Football Association (KFA) to replace Paulo Bento, under a contract from March 2023 to July 2026, with the most important task of attending the 11th consecutive World Cup in 2026.

Hieu Luong

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