Meet the requirements for results
The Vietnam team focused on the first round with 2 matches against opponents in the same Southeast Asian region. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team played a friendly match with the Cambodian team and met the Lao team in the qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup. Basically, these were not too difficult matches and the Vietnam team solved the problem in terms of results.
In fact, there are still certain difficulties for the Korean coach. Fans had to forget the emotional matches with Nguyen Xuan Son, because a serious injury in the 2024 ASEAN Cup final caused this striker to temporarily leave the national team in 2025. Of course, Tien Linh and Tuan Hai are not bad, but it is not easy to fill Xuan Son's void.
However, the Vietnam team is taking a good step to win a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup and clearly recognizes the professional problem. In the coming months, coach Kim Sang-sik will have to work harder.
For U22 Vietnam, head coach Dinh Hong Vinh sometimes "ched not call to ask about relatives". The large workload in a short time forced the Binh Dinh coach to focus all his efforts. U22 Vietnam will gather many times in 2025, but the time in this 3rd training session is very important.
Mr. Vinh will have to operate U22 Vietnam to screen dozens of young players to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games at the end of the year. In the 2 practice matches in Vietnam, Mr. Dinh Hong Vinh somewhat saw the quality of a group of players. At the 2025 CFA Team China friendly tournament, U22 Vietnam seemed to have a solid foundation and achieved good results against strong opponents such as Korea, Uzbekistan or China.
For U17 Vietnam, coach Cristiano Roland needs to be meticulous when disciplining his very young students. The task of winning a ticket to the World Cup is not easy at the present time. U17 Vietnam has potential but youth football is always unstable, they can be very explosive or decline in form and only in the U17 Asian tournament will the answer be clear.
The most important thing is still the 33rd SEA Games
It should be recognized that the Vietnam National Team is lucky to fall into the group in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, which only includes Nepal, Laos and Malaysia. Everyone understands that Malaysia is a tough opponent for Vietnam, but it is not too difficult. Mr. Kim Sang-sik just needs to ensure that his players play at their best, winning the match is within reach.
Mr. Kim's task is very heavy in December 2025 when U22 Vietnam participated in the 33rd SEA Games with the ambition to win a Gold Medal. In the recent congresses, Mr. Park Hang-seo was very successful with 2 first visits, but all had the support of overseas stars such as Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Tien Linh and Nguyen Hoang Duc.
But coach Kim Sang-sik was not as lucky. The host Thailand refused to let older players participate in the tournament, only young talents aged 22 and under were allowed to play. The problem with Vietnamese football is not having a leader for the youth teams.
In the next 8 months, U22 Vietnam has just had to find the best framework from about 50-60 players born from 2003 to 2007. At the same time, head coach Dinh Hong Vinh must build a team leader with a professional spirit and a star who can explode when necessary.
Quoc Viet, Thanh Nhan, Van Khang, Thai Son and Vi Hao emerged as the most promising candidates. They have participated in many international tournaments in the past 2 years together, some of whom are playing for the national team.
Experts say that Mr. Kim Sang-sik is now facing the most difficult problem since coming to Vietnam. But if he can overcome the "goal of the north", Mr. Kim's reign will open a new chapter with many solid bricks.
