Tomorrow (December 9), the Vietnamese team will have their opening match of the AFF Cup 2024 against the host team Laos at 8:00 p.m. Ahead of this match, tonight (December 8), coach Kim Sang-sik attended a press conference and shared with the media.
Regarding his feelings before entering the important campaign of the Vietnamese team, coach Kim Sang-sik said: "Before attending the press conference, I watched the opening match of the AFF Cup 2024 between Cambodia and Malaysia, the match was very exciting.
Therefore, I feel excited to participate in this tournament for the first time. We have had 10 days of training in Korea to improve the tactics as well as the skills of the players. I am very satisfied with what the players have shown in the past time."
Before facing Vietnam in the 2024 AFF Cup, the Laos team caused a surprise when they held Thailand to a 1-1 draw in a friendly match in November. Coach Kim Sang-sik said he had studied this match of the Laos team to find a suitable strategy.
"Tomorrow's match is not just a football match but also has a bigger meaning, about national spirit and national colors. We will fight for that.
I know that the Vietnamese community in Laos is very large, and they will be at the stadium tomorrow to cheer on the team. This brings great encouragement, motivating us to be determined to win to bring joy to domestic fans as well as compatriots living and working in Laos.
I know the Lao coach, and I also studied the match where they drew with Thailand last month, thereby preparing and coming up with a suitable plan for tomorrow's match.
In that match, although Thailand did not have the best force, Laos showed a lot of progress, built good tactics and had good players. However, the Vietnamese team also just had a training trip in Korea, to confidently enter the match. The whole team will try to create the best performance," coach Kim Sang-sik assessed.
On the other side of the battle line, coach Ha Hyeok-jun of the Laos team also has great respect for Mr. Kim Sang-sik. The "captain" of the Laos team also rated Vietnam as one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia at present.
"Mr. Kim and I know each other from Korea, we play for two different teams. Our football styles are different. I think coach Kim Sang-sik is an excellent coach, even though he is younger than me, I still respect him a lot," coach Ha Hyeok-jun emphasized.
