In a recent interview with the media, coach Kim Sang-sik revealed that he will go abroad to watch his opponents before the 2024 ASEAN Cup (formerly known as the AFF Cup) kicks off.
In his plan, the Korean coach will go to the Philippines and Indonesia to watch friendly and official matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
This is a necessary preparation for the Vietnamese team, helping the coaching staff understand their opponents better. In particular, Mr. Kim Sang-sik must carefully study the Indonesian team as they have added many quality naturalized players and have shown improvement in recent times.
In Group B, Vietnam is in the same group with Indonesia, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar.
In fact, “scouting” the Laos team is not really necessary. It cannot be denied that the team from the land of a million elephants has prepared thoroughly, but they are still a weaker opponent and are not strong enough to cause difficulties for the Vietnam team. Meanwhile, the Myanmar team is facing many problems that affect the development of football in this country.
For objective reasons, coach Kim Sang-sik certainly cannot directly study Myanmar. Through many recent youth tournaments and matches at the national team level, Myanmar has not had any significant changes. Coach Myo Hlaing Win has just taken over the national team, he needs more time to build a team that plays according to his philosophy.
Along with "watching the legs" of his opponents, coach Kim Sang-sik needs to have the best preparation for the Vietnamese team. At this time, fans no longer put too much faith in Quang Hai and his teammates.
We need to sympathize with the fans' thinking. It is difficult for them to have high hopes when the players are much worse than they used to be.
Currently, the search for new players for the national team has become urgent. Through many private channels, coach Kim Sang-sik has in hand a list of many new recruits.
In the last 4 rounds of V.League 2024-2025 before the start of AFF Cup 2024, the 48-year-old strategist and his associates will take advantage of all their time to watch as many matches as possible.
After that, the Vietnamese team will go to Korea for training. This is an important test of the players' ability, fitness and confidence. Any star who does not meet the professional requirements will be eliminated. The goal of reaching the final of the AFF Cup 2024 is a must for the Vietnamese team at this time.
