Under the guidance of coach Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnamese team entered the journey at the ASEAN Cup 2024 when competing in Group B with Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Laos.
In the opening match, the "Golden Star Warriors" faced a weaker opponent, the Laos team. The Korean coach boldly experimented with positions. This made the quality of the Vietnamese team's play not be rated too highly.
The Vietnamese team had a lot of possession but lacked sharp coordination and were loyal to long passes behind the Lao defense. However, with the strong defense and good judgment of the opponent, Duy Manh and his teammates encountered many difficulties.
However, the efforts and perseverance of the Vietnamese players were realized with goals in the second half. At the end of 90 minutes of play, the Vietnamese team won the final match with a score of 4-1 against Laos.
In the second match, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team returned to Viet Tri Stadium to welcome their fierce opponent, Indonesia. The fact that the archipelago nation did not bring their strongest squad to this year's tournament gave the Vietnamese team many advantages.
However, the home team still could not score in the first half. It was not until the 77th minute that midfielder Quang Hai scored, bringing home all 3 points for the Vietnamese team.
In the third match, the "Golden Star Warriors" encountered many difficulties when playing on the artificial turf field of the Philippines team. Coach Kim Sang-sik kept many key players on the bench.
Javier Gayoso was the one who scored to help the home team take the lead in the 68th minute. It was not until the 90+7 minute of injury time of the second half that midfielder Doan Ngoc Tan scored, equalizing 1-1 and keeping a valuable point for the Vietnamese team.
Two wins and one draw have opened the door to the semi-finals for coach Kim Sang-sik and his players ahead of the final group stage match. With the debut of striker Nguyen Xuan Son, the Vietnamese team aims to take all three points when hosting Myanmar at Viet Tri Stadium.
As expected, Xuan Son was the bright spot for the Vietnamese team in this match. The naturalized striker possesses speed, good jumping and pressing power, and impressive finishing ability. Xuan Son scored a double and made 2 assists, contributing to the Vietnamese team's overwhelming 5-0 victory over Myanmar.
Closing the group stage, the Vietnamese team had 3 wins and 2 draws, earning 10 points and advancing to the semi-finals as the first team in Group B. The Singapore team also advanced as the second team in the group.
In the semi-finals, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team's opponent is the Singapore team.
According to the schedule, the Vietnamese team will visit Singapore in the first leg of the semi-final on December 26. In the second leg of the semi-final, the Vietnamese team will welcome Singapore on December 29.
The ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-finals will be played in a home-and-away format. The away goals rule will still apply in the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-finals.
