Rarely, the Vietnam team has only called up 23 players as a training session to prepare for the match against Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. But coach Kim Sang-sik also has his own reasons.
limited time and not outstanding personnel forced the Korean coach to spend time to have the most effective plan to use personnel.
In the goalkeeper position, Nguyen Filip returned after being absent from the previous training session for family reasons. In general, coach Kim Sang-sik does not have much to think about this position.
Filip is still excellent despite... bad luck. Meanwhile, Dinh Trieu showed stability even though he did not have the same excellent skills as his teammates.
Choosing the main goalkeeper is a difficult problem and we need to rely on the decision of goalkeeper coach Lee Won-jae.
The defense is also more clearly defined with Cao Pendant Quang Vinh. Previously, the left wing of the Vietnam national team was an unstable position.
Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Van Vi, Vu Van Thanh, Trieu Viet Hung and even Truong Tien Anh were all tested. In which, Van Vi played best but did not make a big enough difference.
Mr. Kim Sang-sik must give Cao Pendant Quang Vinh a chance to show himself. This is an opportunity for the defender born in 1997 to affirm her self-worth.
In midfield, Duc Chien and Minh Khoa have not played much. Duc Chien is the replacement for Doan Ngoc Tan in the lowest position in the midfield, but he does not play the way Ngoc Tan often does.
That forced Mr. Kim to rotate when he had Duc Chien, Minh Khoa, Van Khang or Quang Hai.
It is not by chance that coach Kim Sang-sik brought Cong Phuong back to the Vietnam national team.
But there is a problem that is not easy to solve, because the striker born in 1995 came on the field as the coaching staff had to constantly adjust his tactics. Currently, Cong Phuong plays as an attacking midfielder or a target striker.
In the next few days, the framework of the Vietnamese team needs to be reshaped. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for coach Kim Sang-sik to assess the team's strengths and weaknesses
