The Vietnamese team officially began their journey to the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers with a match against the Lao team at Go Dau Stadium (Binh Duong).
The match taking place at 7:30 p.m. is considered an opportunity for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team to affirm their strength, while creating favorable psychological momentum for the journey ahead in Group F, which also includes Malaysia and Nepal.
History of confrontation is in favor of Vietnam
In terms of history, the Vietnamese team completely dominates Laos. In 14 encounters from 1996 to the present, Vietnam has won 13 times and only tied 1 match at the 1996 AFF Cup with a score of 1-1.
Notably, the "Golden Star Warriors" scored 55 goals against Laos, with the two biggest victories both having a score of 9-0 (SEA Games 1998 and AFF Cup 2006).
Most recently, in the group stage of the ASEAN Cup 2024 taking place in December 2024, the Vietnamese team also easily defeated Laos with a resounding 4-1 victory right on the opponent's field. This achievement shows the clear difference in level between the two teams.
Current form
The Vietnamese team entered this match with high confidence after winning the 2024 ASEAN Cup. Under coach Kim Sang-sik, the Southeast Asian champions' playing style has significantly improved in terms of discipline and efficiency.
The recent friendly win over Cambodia, although not really satisfying, showed that the Vietnamese team's performance is still stable. However, the fact that key striker Nguyen Tien Linh has not reached his best physical condition after injury may be a problem that coach Kim needs to solve soon.
Meanwhile, the Lao national team has also made progress recently thanks to the addition of naturalized players playing in Europe and the US. However, in Southeast Asia, the team has not been able to close the gap with the regional football powers.
The 1-2 defeat to Sri Lanka in a recent friendly match shows that the Laos team still needs more time to complete the squad.
Tactical Highlights
Coach Kim Sang-sik will likely continue to apply a flexible 3-4-3 formation, taking advantage of the strength of the wingers to put pressure on the Lao defense. Besides Tien Linh, Pham Tuan Hai may be given the opportunity to play from the start to increase the attacking power of the Vietnamese team.
The midfield with the presence of Nguyen Hoang Duc and Nguyen Quang Hai will play the role of controlling the tempo of the match and launching attacks.
Meanwhile, with the goal of scoring points, the Lao team is likely to choose a defensive counter-attacking style of play, taking advantage of the agility of the Lao players to cause surprises.
However, with a defense that often makes mistakes against strong opponents, experts say Laos will find it difficult to withstand pressure from host Vietnam.
With home advantage, superior form and overwhelming history, the Vietnamese team is expected to win this match. However, to secure the top spot in Group F – the only condition to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup finals, Vietnam not only needs to win but also needs to score many goals to create an advantage in goal difference over opponents like Malaysia.
This match is not only a warm-up for the qualifying campaign, but also an opportunity for the Vietnamese team to send a strong message to their opponents in the group. Fans can fully expect an explosive performance from coach Kim Sang-sik and his team at Go Dau Stadium tonight.
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Source: https://nld.com.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-tu-tin-se-thang-dam-tuyen-lao-196250325144845546.htm
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