On the morning of January 1, coach Kim Sang-sik attended a press conference before the 2024 ASEAN Cup final.
In addition to the professional story of the Vietnam team, the Korean coach also received questions about rotating the use of goalkeepers, something rarely seen from other coaches.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Kim Sang-sik said: "The 26 players of the Vietnamese team are all ready for the tournament. From the first match to the final, we have adjusted the lineup to bring about the best results.
As for Dinh Trieu and Filip Nguyen, they are both great goalkeepers. Filip Nguyen is a good professional, but in this tournament, I consider the advantage of communicating in Vietnamese. In fact, Dinh Trieu is actually better at communicating with his teammates. Before the matches, I discussed with the goalkeeper coach about who to use to make a reasonable choice."
Since the beginning of the tournament, after 6 matches, goalkeeper Nguyen Filip has only started 2 matches against Indonesia and the Philippines in the group stage. Meanwhile, Dinh Trieu played in the matches against Laos, Myanmar (group stage) and 2 semi-final matches against Singapore.
The lack of opportunities to play has more or less affected Nguyen Filip's mentality. Before that, right after the second leg of the semi-final, Mr. Nguyen Minh - Filip's father went to the hotel where the Vietnamese team was staying to share and encourage his son. This will give the Vietnamese-American goalkeeper more mental strength towards the upcoming two final matches.
