The Vietnamese team will enter the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers without striker Nguyen Xuan Son. 7 goals and 3 assists for teammates in just 5 matches at the 2024 ASEAN Cup spoke about the importance of the 1997-born star.
As he gradually got used to Xuan Son's presence, coach Kim Sang-sik had to calculate personnel without this player.
The serious injury in the ASEAN Cup final will cause the striker of Nam Dinh club to be absent from the national team for a long time, at least until the end of 2025.
Luckily for the Korean coach, the upcoming opponents of the Vietnamese team are only Cambodia (friendly) or Laos, Nepal and Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Basically, the Vietnamese team can still win the match without Xuan Son. In terms of personnel, Nguyen Tien Linh and Pham Tuan Hai, if playing at their best, will still be the artillery pieces with the weight of the Vietnamese team's attack.
But the 2024 ASEAN Cup points out a big problem, the Vietnamese team is not really a perfect playing machine. With Xuan Son, the ballots are solved more easily. However, before his appearance, the Vietnamese team struggled because the quality of each coordination situation did not meet the highest standards.
Improving the playing system, coach Kim Sang-sik will overcome the problem of not having Xuan Son in the squad.
Even if he builds a more clear line of the national team, when Xuan Son returns, he can help the "Golden Star Warriors" become stronger than ever.
Talking to Lao Dong, commentator Quang Tung said: "We have started to get used to the appearance of Xuan Son, winning the ASEAN Cup by playing with a big influence from this player. Without Xuan Son, feelings of anxiety are inevitable.
I still wait for the Vietnam team to improve their playing style, approach to the match, and better blocks in coordination situations, not just a simple playing style applied in the ASEAN Cup. This means that the task of Mr. Kim Sang-sik and his students in the coming time will be very difficult".
Commentator Quang Tung added: "At this time, the Vietnam team does not have a main striker, there is no strongest player, so we have to reuse the old options with Tien Linh and other domestic players.
What I look forward to is the team's ability to coordinate and perform at a higher level, synchronously in many attack options, can attack on the two wings, in the middle, play long ball, play short ball... but need to be improved at a higher level, especially developing the ball from home according to the trend of world football".
