In the FIFA Days series in October 2024, Lebanon could not come to Vietnam to compete, the match against India became the only test for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team before the AFF Cup 2024. In terms of strength, the Vietnamese team is rated higher when it is ranked 116th in the world, 10 places higher than India. In addition, in the most recent encounter (September 2022), the Vietnamese team also defeated the opponent 3-0.
The match with the Indian team is considered an important practice match for the Vietnamese team before the AFF Cup 2024.
Coach Kim Sang-sik has his 5th official match with the Vietnamese team. The Korean coach needs a win to relieve the pressure.
The good news for coach Kim Sang-sik is that on the eve of the match against the Indian team, two important players, Nguyen Tien Linh and Bui Hoang Viet Anh, have returned to training with their teammates. Previously, when the Vietnamese team played a friendly match against Nam Dinh Club (the Vietnamese team won 3-2), the duo were absent.
Tien Linh and Bui Hoang Viet Anh (number 20) have returned to training with their teammates.
Notably, in the October training session, coach Kim Sang-sik decided to call up quite a few young players. Tran Trung Kien, Giap Tuan Duong, Bui Vi Hao, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Thai Son, Nguyen Quoc Viet left their mark in the first matches of the 2024-2025 V-League and were all named. In addition, veteran Van Quyet also returned. In 2022, Van Quyet was one of the players who scored against the Indian team, helping the Vietnamese team win 3-0.
Van Truong (No. 26) is considered one of the most special cases in the Vietnam national team's lineup. In the 4 matches since coach Kim Sang-sik debuted in June 2024, Van Truong was registered, starting twice against opponents Russia and Thailand in September 2024.
Khuat Van Khang just had a great goal against Hai Phong Club before joining the Vietnam national team.
Young player Quoc Viet is expected to leave his mark on the attack.
Thai Son is still playing well for Thanh Hoa Club and is considered an important player in the midfield of coach Kim Sang-sik.
Van Quyet returns to Vietnam national team
In addition to the performances of the young players, the combination in the midfield with players like Hung Dung, Hoang Duc, Quang Hai also received a lot of attention. In particular, the performance of the Vietnamese Golden Ball - Hoang Duc is a question mark for fans when he had to sit on the bench in the first matches of the V-League 2024 - 2025 season. Recently, Hoang Duc also said goodbye to The Cong Viettel Club to have a new destination, Ninh Binh Club in the first division.
Hoang Duc needs to regain his form soon to help the Vietnamese team's midfield play well.
Hung Dung and Quang Hai still play important roles in the Vietnamese team's gameplay.
Que Ngoc Hai returns as captain of the Vietnam national team. The central defender currently playing for Binh Duong Club will be one of the quality options in the defense of the Vietnam national team. Que Ngoc Hai said: “Nam Dinh fans always love football, it is their culture. We hope to receive enthusiastic support from fans in Thanh Nam and audiences nationwide in the match against India. The Vietnam national team will try their best to bring a beautiful match at Thien Truong Stadium.”
On the other side, the Indian team arrived in Nam Dinh on October 8. For this tour, coach Manolo Marquez selected 23 of his best players. Defender Rahul Bheke is the oldest player in the squad of the team from the South Asian region (34 years old).
The rest of the Indian team's lineup is still very young, with most of the players born after 1999. The youngest is midfielder Lalrinliana Hnamte, only 21 years old.
The Indian team greeted Thien Truong Stadium in a very relaxed mood.
Coach Manolo Márquez is under a lot of pressure as the Indian team is not in good form. In the Intercontinental Cup friendly held in September, the Indian team had a 0-0 draw with Mauritius (ranked 183rd in the world) and lost 0-3 to Syria. In general, the Indian team has not won in 10 consecutive matches.
Compared to 2022, the Indian team still has 8 players who have faced Vietnam: goalkeeper Sandhu, defenders Chinglensana Konsham, Naorem Roshan, Anwar Ali, midfielders Brandon Fernandes, Jaekson Thounaojam and 2 strikers Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Partap.
Although ranked lower than the Vietnamese team, India cannot be underestimated. In particular, coach Manolo Márquez's attack line has many players with good physique, ready for aerial ball options.
Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is the most prominent player in the current Indian national team squad.
The match between Vietnam and India will take place at 6pm on October 12 at Thien Truong Stadium. Before the match, coach Manolo Márquez expressed his determination to win: “Playing against Vietnam is a good thing for us. I know Vietnam has reached the final qualifying round of the World Cup. This is a difficult opponent but we will try to compete to make it difficult for Vietnam.
We know we are up against a strong team but as our players said, India want to end their recent losing streak. We are here to win.”
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