From this point on, coach Kim Sang-sik will have about nearly 4 months to prepare for the next task, the ASEAN Cup 2026. This is the first time the Southeast Asian regional tournament has taken place in the summer and the Vietnamese team has the task of defending the championship.
Prepare for yourself
From the 2 matches against Bangladesh and Malaysia, it can be said that the Korean coach and his colleagues have important data to draw out the angles that need to be further promoted, the issues that need to be improved in individual players' form and collective play.
Perhaps it is necessary to soon affirm that, with the great responsibility of defending the throne, there will not be too many personnel changes in the 49-year-old captain's decision, unless an incident occurs with someone's injury.
Therefore, the remaining 10 rounds of V.League and some matches in the final stage of the National Cup are a period for the coaching staff to monitor and evaluate players' performance. Although it is said to have fewer changes compared to the squad called up for FIFA Days in March, it does not mean that everyone is guaranteed a spot. Just falling behind will have a replacement. Therefore, the efforts of the players also bring positive signals.
Next, a very important issue, with the current personnel, especially when Hoang Hen is side by side with Xuan Son, what style, playing style, and tactics will coach Kim Sang-sik shape for the team? How is adaptation and flexibility at each time? ASEAN Cup is not a time to experiment, but in its seriousness, experts and fans really want to see the team's own style and spirit.
Not only the form and playing style, but also the psychological preparation before pressure is equally important. Pressure from the current position, pressure from expectations, pressure from the opponent, from times of being led, or standing before the match to answer the question "should I be pragmatic or not". At the same time, it is necessary to handle the issue of "terminating" the opponent when there is an opportunity. That is the difference between a strong team and a champion team.
Looking at the opponent
Not taking advantage of FIFA Days in June is quite regrettable, but after the V.League 2025-2026 ends in early June (National Cup ends on June 28), Mr. Kim Sang-sik has quite a lot of time to prepare. There may be a few internal friendly matches to assemble, verify and assess the readiness, but don't forget to look around, where there are at least 3 opponents aiming to overthrow the champion.
The Indonesian team in the same group A is the first challenge. Being strong in the naturalization policy shows the desire not only to rise to the top of Southeast Asia but also to aim for the World Cup. Never winning the ASEAN Cup (6 times runner-up) has become even more motivation for them at this year's tournament.
The Thai national team is still the most successful team in the tournament (7 times champion), still maintaining what many people admit the quality in them is the technical foundation and clear football thinking. Meanwhile, Malaysia is becoming increasingly unpredictable with a physically strong playing style. Not forgetting that the Philippines is not short of naturalized players and is playing football abroad. Therefore, the picture of regional men's football is no longer a place where Vietnam can walk with an absolute "outsider" mindset.
4 months sounds quite long, but with a very large workload, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team must be both focused and very cautious, especially in the context that the tournament does not take place at a gathering point but plays at home and away in the not-so-simple weather conditions of summer.
