Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers: How will Vietnam play against Laos?

The Vietnamese team cannot rely solely on Hai Long's scoring ability - Photo: NK

The problem is how coach Kim Sang Sik and his team play to prepare for more difficult matches.

If the Vietnamese team continues to play like the friendly match in which they narrowly won 2-1 against Cambodia, it will be difficult for them to reassure their fans.

Actively "decoding" Laos

Compared to Cambodia, Laos is even weaker. But don't forget how hard the Vietnamese team struggled against Laos in the opening match of the 2024 ASEAN Cup. Playing with the strongest lineup, coach Kim Sang Sik's team was not able to score the opening goal until the 58th minute thanks to Hai Long, opening the way for a 4-1 victory.

And now, coincidentally, the Vietnamese team will continue to meet Laos in the opening match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, which promises to be no easy task either. Because the Vietnamese team did not perform convincingly in the friendly match with Cambodia.

Meanwhile, the Lao national team's strength has changed significantly with the presence of 3 French-Lao players playing in Europe and the US: right-back Victor, midfielder Roman and striker Theo Klein.

All three started in their recent 1-2 loss to Sri Lanka. They showed that they would play even better if they had more time to integrate with their new teammates in the national team. Therefore, yesterday (March 23), coach Kim Sang Sik and his team watched the video of the friendly match between Laos and Sri Lanka to analyze the opponent, to see if their playing style was different from the 2024 ASEAN Cup. Especially the strengths and weaknesses of the three Lao players.

Improving the playing ability of the strikers is what coach Kim Sang Sik must do in the preparation for the rematch with Laos. Unfortunately, the Korean coach continues to face a difficult problem in terms of personnel.

Key striker Nguyen Tien Linh is still not in the best shape and is unlikely to play on March 25. Previously, having just returned from a knee injury, Tien Linh only entered the field in the second half of the friendly match with Cambodia and played poorly.

Tien Linh was absent in the match against Cambodia due to injury - Photo: QUANG THINH

Question mark for the attack

Without naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son due to injury, the Vietnamese team had to put their faith in domestic strikers again. But as seen in the friendly match with Cambodia, strikers Tien Linh, Pham Tuan Hai, and Dinh Thanh Binh all failed to meet expectations. And now, if Tien Linh cannot play, the already-depressed attack will be even more vulnerable than ever.

In fact, coach Kim Sang Sik tested a new way of playing for the Vietnamese team in the friendly match with Cambodia to prepare for situations where the strikers did not play well or were blocked by the opponent.

This included letting Quang Hai play as an attacking midfielder behind Pham Tuan Hai, or sometimes stepping up as a false striker in the first half. But this way of playing was not effective, even though Cambodia was not strong.

Without Xuan Son, the Vietnamese team no longer used many long passes over the line, or poured the ball high from the wings. Instead, the players played short balls and coordinated more with the group against Cambodia.

However, the gap between the main players and the reserve players prevented the Vietnamese team from maintaining the desired playing style. Chau Ngoc Quang, who was tested by Mr. Kim as a central midfielder after Hoang Duc left the field due to injury, played quite poorly. He could not help the Vietnamese team increase the attacking pressure towards the Cambodian goal.

Coach Ha Hyeok Jun and the Laos team must have watched the recent friendly match and understood the playing style of the Vietnamese team. Therefore, Mr. Kim must prepare more carefully for the attacking ability of the Vietnamese team, not only for the match with Laos but also for the important match with host Malaysia in the second match of the 2027 Asian Cup next June.

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NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vong-loai-asian-cup-2027-tuyen-viet-nam-choi-the-nao-truoc-lao-20250324103644797.htm