Before the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-final, coach Kim Sang-sik said that the Vietnamese team feels honored to be present in this round and is clearly aware of the difficulties ahead. The team's goal is to achieve favorable results away from home, creating an advantage before the second leg.
“We are honored to be in the semi-finals. The whole team will try our best to repay the support of the fans, towards the common goal of reaching the final. In the first match against Malaysia, we will try to achieve the best results,” coach Kim Sang-sik shared.
According to coach Kim Sang-sik, the semi-finals are completely different from the group stage, especially when the Vietnamese team has to play the first leg away from home. Besides preparing tactics, players also need to adapt to the field conditions in Kuala Lumpur.
Semi-finals are not easy, especially when the match takes place away from home. We need to try our best to play well. Players also need to get used to the new pitch," he said.
Regarding the force, Kim Sang-sik said that the Vietnamese team has no injuries. The players are in good physical condition and ready for the important match.
Assessing Malaysia, the Korean coach said that the home team is a strong team and has balance in their playing style.
Malaysia often uses a 4-4-2 formation, showing good balance in the playing style. This is a strong team. We will try to carefully analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent to have the best preparation for the match and hope to achieve a positive result," Mr. Kim Sang-sik said.
Before the question about past head-to-head record, coach Kim Sang-sik said that previous results did not have much meaning for the upcoming semi-final.
This is a new match between Malaysia and Vietnam. Our goal is very clearly to achieve a good result. The players are in high spirit and motivation," he said.
Regarding the assessment that Malaysia will be weaker when there are no more naturalized players as before, Kim Sang-sik does not agree with evaluating opponents based on personal factors.
“Malaysian players all have good professional skills. The coaching staff and defenders have carefully analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of each player. However, that is not too big of a problem, because football is not just an individual story but a collective strength. I believe that tomorrow we will achieve good results,” he said.
Looking back at the group stage, coach Kim Sang-sik highly appreciated the fighting spirit and efforts of the players. According to him, analyzing each opponent carefully and preparing carefully for each match is one of the factors that helped the Vietnamese team win the right to enter the semi-finals.
In the group stage, all players tried their best, showed dedication and played well. We analyzed each opponent carefully and prepared carefully for the next match. That is the reason why the team reached the semi-finals," Mr. Kim Sang-sik shared.
The Korean coach believes that the semi-finals create greater motivation for the players, and the support of fans is an important source of encouragement.
The group stage is completely different from the semi-finals. In this round, the players have more motivation to compete and prepare more carefully. The most important goal is the dedication and unremitting effort of the players. If they continue to receive the support of the fans, it will be great for the future and the overall result," he emphasized.
The Vietnamese team entered the semi-finals with a 22-match unbeaten streak. Kim Sang-sik assessed this as a remarkable achievement but emphasized that the whole team should not be too dependent on past results.
The first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-final between Malaysia and Vietnam takes place at 8:00 PM on August 16th (Vietnam time).
