On the evening of October 9, at Binh Duong Stadium (Thu Dau Mot Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), the Vietnam team won 3-1 against the Nepal team in the third match of Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
In general, this was a hard-fought victory for the Vietnamese team. Against an opponent 60 places below the FIFA rankings, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team still had many difficulties when they let the opponent equalize 1-1. It was not until Nepal played with one less player that the Vietnamese team was able to score to take the lead.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, coach Kim Sang-sik said that the Vietnamese players should have scored more than 3 goals.
He said: "Although the number of shots is very large and it is reasonable to score many goals, 3 goals are still successful. If you finish more carefully, you will score more goals.
We played safely in the first half, it was not until the second half that we took advantage of the players who tended to attack, as well as exploited the opponent's declining physical strength. Tactically, the whole team did well today and achieved the result".
Regarding the only goal conceded by the Vietnamese team in this match, coach Kim Sang-sik commented: "That goal came in a set piece. The players need to focus more on defense. We will try to focus more."
When asked about the performance of goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, coach Kim Sang-sik commented: "Before the training session, Van Lam had a very good performance at the club. Today, it is difficult to evaluate because Nepal did not make many dangerous shots".
Coach Kim Sang-sik said that the goal of the Vietnamese team at this time is to get good results in the remaining 3 matches of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
"Malaysia also won today so we are in 2nd place. We will try in the next 3 matches. The need to focus on winning the remaining matches at this time, not thinking too much about the opponent," the Korean strategist emphasized.
With this victory, the Vietnam team has 6 points after 3 matches, ranking second in Group F and 3 points behind the leader Malaysia. In the next round, the Vietnam team will face the Nepal team again on October 14 at Thong Nhat Stadium (HCMC).
