Coach Kim Sang-sik came to Vietnam with high expectations. The Korean coach completed his first challenge called the ASEAN Cup with a convincing championship.
Right after the Southeast Asian tournament ended, Mr. Kim only took a few days off and then returned to Vietnam early to start a new job, because he understood that the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers were the next obstacle he needed to overcome.
It is true that the Vietnamese team fell into an easy group with opponents Malaysia, Nepal and Laos, but coach Kim Sang-sik was not subjective, always showing determination and seriousness.
To prepare for the opening match against Laos at Binh Duong Stadium (25.3), Mr. Kim Sang-sik and his assistants traveled to many places, attended many matches in the V.League to find new players and check the performance of old players.
In fact, at the ASEAN Cup, the Vietnamese team played explosively partly based on Nguyen Xuan Son's impressive performance. Maintaining achievements without this striker is also a big problem for the strategist born in 1976".
Commentator Quang Tung said: "We have added Xuan Son to the ASEAN Cup 2024 but have immediately lost this player for a long time. To replace Xuan Son, it is currently very difficult for all domestic players in Vietnam to meet the requirements.
Xuan Son has all the elements of a striker, no Vietnamese player in many years has the same level. He has physique, fitness, and comprehensive finishing. Xuan Son's ability to play aggressively and independently in attacking matches is a huge difference".
Therefore, this is a big challenge for coach Kim Sang-sik and his task is to choose the best squad, find factors to fill the void left by Xuan Son and ensure achievements for the home team.
On the other hand, the Laos team - Vietnam's first opponent in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers has progressed very quickly in recent times under the leadership of coach Ha Hyeok-jun. They become stronger, more determined, have a solid counter-attacking defensive style of play and maximize the abilities of each player.
Mr. Ha Hyeok-jun's presence at Binh Duong Stadium to watch the match in round 14 of the V.League shows the great determination of the Lao team, even though the match with the Vietnamese team is still 1 month away.
According to the schedule, after round 15 of V.League, the Vietnam team will gather again in Hanoi. From this time until the end of March, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will gradually deploy training and have another friendly match against Cambodia to evaluate the quality.
