Trieu Viet Hung (13) is a failed experiment of coach Kim Sang Sik - Photo: NK
The Vietnamese team faced many difficulties against an opponent considered weaker than them, Cambodia, in a friendly match on the evening of March 19 at Go Dau Stadium (Binh Duong).
Compared to the 2024 ASEAN Cup, coach Kim Sang Sik only had one experiment in this match. He put Trieu Viet Hung in the starting position at left back, accepting to let the player in very good form, Nguyen Van Vi, sit out.
Failed test
But this experiment did not work. Trieu Viet Hung played awkwardly on the left wing, where the Vietnamese team attacked the most.
He could not provide the ball effectively to the attack when he could not get past the Cambodian defenders, leading to a rather deadlocked play of the Vietnamese team.
This forced coach Kim Sang Sik to wave his hand to signal Van Vi to warm up when the match had only been over 20 minutes. And in the 28th minute, the Korean coach sent Van Vi onto the field to replace Trieu Viet Hung.
But before Trieu Viet Hung entered the field, the Vietnamese team had already scored the opening goal in the 26th minute from a beautiful free kick by Hai Long from a distance of nearly 20 meters. And when Van Vi entered the field, the Vietnamese team had another goal from this left-back in the 35th minute.
Coach Kim Sang Sik had a tough match against Cambodia - Photo: NK
The attack is lackluster.
In the first half, Pham Tuan Hai played the highest position in the attack, replacing Tien Linh, who played poorly. He did not have any notable opportunities. The best player of the Vietnamese team in the first 45 minutes was Hai Long, with a goal and many dangerous moves against the Cambodian goal.
But even when Tien Linh was put on the field to replace Pham Tuan Hai, the Vietnamese team's attack did not improve. Tien Linh and then Dinh Thanh Binh also played poorly.
Unable to score a goal, the Vietnamese team's defense also had to struggle to withstand Cambodia's formidable counterattacks.
If the Cambodian strikers were not so bad, the Vietnamese team would have conceded more goals instead of just one. The most obvious situation was in the 60th minute, when the Vietnamese team's defense was "torn apart" after a counterattack.
Receiving a pass from his teammate to the left wing, naturalized striker Nieto immediately crossed the ball into the penalty area. Unfortunately, Ronata faced goalkeeper Dinh Trieu and incredibly missed the ball.
Even the goal conceded in the 64th minute showed the Vietnamese team's problematic defense. The central midfielders did not intervene at all, allowing substitute Bong Samuel to freely shoot from outside the box, leaving goalkeeper Dinh Trieu helpless.
That was the reason why coach Kim Sang Sik was restless on the sidelines for the last 10 minutes of the match. He even called on his players to retreat to defense when Cambodia launched an attack or took a free kick.
The Vietnamese team finally defended their victory. But clearly, the sweaty victory over Cambodia was not a happy thing for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team.
The Vietnamese team needs to improve not only for the opening match of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup against Laos on March 25, but also for the match against direct competitor Malaysia in June.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-nen-cam-on-campuchia-20250319224057355.htm
Comment (0)