Efforts but insignificant
The draw takes the defending champion Vietnam to face Timor Leste (July 24), Singapore (July 31), Indonesia (August 3) and Cambodia (August 7) in Group A - ASEAN Cup 2026. This is a favorable group for coach Kim Sang-sik's team compared to Group B with Thailand, Malaysia, Laos...
Timor Leste is the first opponent of the Vietnamese team. Half of their squad is playing football in European mid-tier leagues. Typical examples include Zion Cruz, Eric Silva or Joao Varudo who are playing for some medium and small clubs in Portugal. The playing style similar to this country is what Timor Leste aims for, especially when coach Ze Pedro builds an attacking style of play.
Timor Leste also registered quite a few attacking players in the list such as striker Joao Pedro, Paulo Gusmao, Luis Figo, Olagar Xavier (Kaka), Gustavo Mota, Alexandre Corsino... or midfielders who tend to push high such as Palomito Ribeiro, Natalino de Jesus, Claudio Osorio, Tristan Xavi Arrarte and Denilson Almeida...
However, with their modest level, it is very difficult for Timor Leste to create a surprise. They even face the risk of a heavy defeat against Vietnam right in the opening match in Thailand, when coach Kim Sang-sik brought a "firepower" many times stronger to the tournament.
After the away match at Chonburi training ground against Timor Leste, the Vietnamese team will return to My Dinh Stadium to welcome Singapore. The Lion City team has just concluded a 12-day training trip in Okinawa (Japan) with the task of improving professional quality and adaptability to the continuous competition intensity at ASEAN Cup 2026.
However, coach Gavin Lee's team also only won 1 match against Okinawa SV with a score of 2-1. They drew 1-1 and lost 0-2 in two matches against FC Ryukyu. The poor warm-up came from Singapore not having the optimal squad when center-back Safuwan Baharudin and striker Ikhsan Fandi were absent.
Among them, defender Safuwan has 133 caps for Singapore. Striker Ikhsan has played 49 matches and scored 23 goals for the national team. Both made their mark in the friendly match between Singapore and Mongolia in May.
Coach Gavin Lee shared before the tournament: "Whoever takes the field, we always find ways to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.
Not a big challenge
Cambodia and Indonesia are the remaining 2 challenges for the Vietnamese team in the group stage.
At ASEAN Cup 2026, Cambodia registered 3 naturalized foreign players like Vietnam. 2 of the 3 names are Yudai Ogawa and Abdel Kader Coulibaly who played in the ASEAN Cup 2 years ago. In addition, they have a new hope, newcomer Alisher Mirzaev - who grew up from Uzbekistan and is playing for Kompong Dewa club of Cambodia. This 30-year-old player has only played for the Cambodian national team once.
Towards the Southeast Asian tournament, Cambodia won against Hong Kong (China) 2-0 and won against Bhutan 4-0. Naturalized player Yudai Ogawa scored in both matches, and Kader Coulibaly contributed 1 goal. However, this is a barrier that the Vietnamese team can completely overcome to win all 3 points.
The difficulty for coach Kim Sang-sik's team will increase when facing Indonesia. Currently, the archipelago team has gone through 2 weeks of training in Bali. 50 players that Mr. John Herdman called up have been actively competing to be included in the official list to participate in the tournament.
The force that Mr. Herdman built is somewhat more modest than his predecessor. "Mixed-race" stars are not released by their European clubs, instead, they give opportunities to many young talents such as 21-year-old midfielder Taufik Rustam (Malut United), 18-year-old striker Arkhan Kaka (Persis Solo).
Faces such as Justin Hubner (Fortuna Sittard - Belgium), Marselino Ferdinan (Oxford United in England) or Mathew Baker (Melbourne City - Australia) are also named in the list. However, their chances of playing in the ASEAN Cup are only 50-50, as the above-mentioned teams are also not sure to nod their players to accompany Indonesia throughout the tournament journey.
