AFF Cup championship helps coach Kim Sang-sik overcome... pressure from Cong Phuong

Cong Phuong still regularly scores for Binh Phuoc Football Club. However, don't forget that this is just a lower-ranked team in the Vietnamese professional football system. The competitiveness of the first division, where Cong Phuong still plays every week, is certainly not as high as the V-League. In addition, the competitiveness in the Binh Phuoc team's squad is certainly not as high as the competitiveness in the top V-League teams such as Hanoi Police Football Club (CAHN), Hanoi FC, Nam Dinh, The Cong Viettel, Binh Duong... It is certainly easier for Cong Phuong to secure a starting position in the Southeast team than in the teams competing for the V-League championship.

Cong Phuong still has many opportunities to return to wear the Vietnamese national team jersey.

Therefore, it is difficult to use Cong Phuong's performance in Binh Phuoc FC to comment on whether or not this striker should be called up to the Vietnam national team by coach Kim Sang-sik. Coach Kim Sang-sik himself has also spoken out about Cong Phuong: "He is a good player, and is in good form in Binh Phuoc FC. However, unfortunately, the time I have spent watching Cong Phuong is not long enough for me to decide to call him up to the national team."

Moreover, calling any player to the national team depends on the philosophy of each coach, depending on the style of play that the coach advocates to build. The style of play built by the coach will determine whether the player concerned is suitable for the general operation of the national team or not.

Regarding this issue, Cong Phuong is not the only controversial case before the AFF Cup started. Que Ngoc Hai, Vo Hoang Minh Khoa (Binh Duong), Do Hung Dung (Hanoi FC), To Van Vu (Nam Dinh), goalkeeper Dang Van Lam (Ninh Binh) ... were also unfortunately eliminated. But with the AFF Cup 2024 championship, coach Kim Sang-sik has just proven that he made the right choice.

Cong Phuong's chance in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers

It also relates to the compatibility, the playing style of Cong Phuong, who tends to keep the ball up front, whether it is suitable for the number 1 striker of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup, Nguyen Xuan Son. At the Southeast Asian Football Championship, Mr. Kim advocated for the Vietnamese team to play quickly, giving the ball to Xuan Son up front, so that this striker can handle the ball as quickly as possible.

Cong Phuong can replace Xuan Son's role during the time Xuan Son is injured.

The effectiveness of using Xuan Son in the 2024 AFF Cup has been answered, but the effectiveness of combining Cong Phuong with Xuan Son is still a question mark? Therefore, it is difficult to blame coach Kim Sang-sik in this matter, once the results are still very favorable for the Vietnamese team.

Of course, Cong Phuong still has a lot of opportunities to return to the Vietnam national team, especially in the context of Xuan Son's injury. Xuan Son is injured for a long time, coach Kim Sang-sik's team needs a new element for the strikers more than ever. Maybe Cong Phuong will be that element, helping the Korean coach find another breakthrough.

The problem is that Cong Phuong must persevere, the opportunity to wear the national team jersey, even to take an official place in the competition, is never closed to anyone. Goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu is a typical example of this. It was thought that Dinh Trieu would always be the shadow of goalkeeper Nguyen Filip, but Dinh Trieu suddenly shone at the Southeast Asian championship, helping the Vietnamese team win the gold cup, Dinh Trieu himself was chosen by experts as the best goalkeeper of the tournament!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoi-vo-dich-aff-cup-giup-hlv-kim-sang-sik-vuot-qua-ap-luc-cong-phuong-185250113144613429.htm