The 2024 AFF Cup is, in theory, a three-way competition between Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, with coach Kim Sang-sik's team being the lowest-rated. That means the Korean coach and his players must work harder to overcome difficulties and obstacles, both subjective and objective.
It has been repeatedly mentioned that the AFF Cup is not part of the FIFA competition schedule, so clubs are not required to release players. Therefore, Thailand and Indonesia cannot choose their strongest squad, with coach Shin Tae-yong recently announcing a preliminary squad consisting mostly of Indonesia's U21 team.
That unintentionally puts more pressure on VFF and Mr. Kim Sang-sik, besides the goal of reaching the finals that has been set. Many people believe that, "while opponents consider this a front for young players to compete and show themselves, the Vietnam team does everything for results."
“Doing everything” here means stopping domestic tournaments for 2 months and calling up the strongest possible squad, with only a few young players mixed in. This is followed by the comment that “even if we win against such opponents, it won’t be very glorious”, and “if we don’t win, it will be even worse”.
However, in different frames of reference, the choices of the teams should not be compared. With the Indonesian team, having finished second after 6 finals, they should be the team with the most desire to win the championship. But if they cannot call up naturalized players, they can choose the best players in the domestic league. Instead, they see this as an opportunity to prepare young players for the SEA Games.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese football does not have players playing abroad to worry about whether or not the club will release the player. Domestically, clubs support by agreeing to stop the tournament to focus on the national team during a period when results are urgently needed to relieve pressure. When young players are not ready, bringing them to the tournament can sometimes have the opposite effect.
Candidates for the tournament all aim high, but how they perform will truly reflect the quality - or problems - of football in the current period. Fans just need to accept it, the responsibility lies with the Federation, coaches and players.
