“The Vietnam national team, ranked 119th in the world, has decided not to gather for the FIFA Days in November. Instead, they will train in South Korea.
This is clearly aimed at preparing for the AFF Cup 2024 by maximizing the international break in November. The Vietnamese team can have a head start in preparing and arranging the squad compared to other countries,” CNN Indonesia shared.
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and coach Kim Sang-sik have agreed that the Vietnamese team will not compete this month. This is to maintain the rhythm of competition and form for the players in the V.League; helping the coaching staff have more time to perfect their personnel and playing style, striving to complete the set goals...
Compared to other teams in the region, the Vietnamese team has a different direction to prepare for the AFF Cup 2024 (newly named ASEAN Cup). With the current situation of the Vietnamese team, as well as the preparation of the opponents, it is clear that not playing international matches before the AFF Cup 2024 is a gamble for Mr. Kim Sang-sik's team.
Remember before the AFF Cup 2022, the Vietnamese team under Mr. Park Hang-seo had a perfect preparation plan for the tournament. From June to December 2022, the Vietnamese team played 5 friendly matches, with all wins.
The team scored 12 goals and conceded only 1 goal when facing Afghanistan, India, Philippines, Dortmund and Singapore. With that solid foundation, the Vietnamese team played very well at the AFF Cup 2022, convincingly reaching the final and only losing to Thailand by 1 goal.
On the contrary, at present, the Vietnamese team is not highly rated, with a series of declining performances and an unclear playing style. In 6 matches under Mr. Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnamese team only won 2 matches, drew 1 and lost 3.
The team's plans for October were somewhat affected when the international friendly match with Lebanon was cancelled, forcing the team to change and play a friendly match with Nam Dinh club.
The past journey has posed many challenges for Mr. Kim Sang-sik and his colleagues, from the team not yet forming a clear and sharp playing style; the performance of many veterans is still questioned; young stars have not yet achieved the necessary stability...
These things cannot be solved through a training trip, without any international friendly matches. Hopefully, with the addition of personnel to the coaching staff, it will be easier to monitor the performance of the players when they are all playing domestically..., the Vietnam team will have a peak performance at the right time when the AFF Cup 2024 starts.
While Vietnam will not play in November, the opponents in the group will have important matches. Indonesia will have two matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. After that, they will focus on the AFF Cup from November 26 with 33 players. Laos will have two friendly matches with Malaysia and Thailand; the Philippines will have friendly matches with Hong Kong (China) and Sri Lanka; Myanmar will face Singapore and Lebanon.
