Mr. Kim Sang-sik's successful tournament
Mr. Kim Sang-sik became the 4th coach in history to help the Vietnamese team reach the ASEAN Cup final, after Alfred Riedl (1998), Calisto (2008) and Park Hang-seo (2018, 2022).
In his first major tournament as Vietnam coach, Kim Sang-sik was skillful in rotating the squad and being flexible in tactics, helping the team remain unbeaten in all 6 matches. The team scored 16 goals and conceded 3. The number of goals scored by the team was even more than in the 2018 ASEAN Cup - the last tournament Vietnam won, although there were still 2 matches left.
Twin strikers Tien Linh - Nguyen Xuan Son
Nguyen Xuan Son and Nguyen Tien Linh have proven their worth at this year's ASEAN Cup. With Xuan Son, he scored 5 goals in 3 matches, temporarily leading the list of top scorers at the ASEAN Cup 2024.
Meanwhile, Tien Linh has also scored 4 goals. The striker currently playing for Binh Duong club has 2 more matches to improve his record. At ASEAN Cup 2022, Tien Linh is the joint top scorer with Teerasil Dangda with 6 goals.
Injury concerns
The 3-1 victory over Singapore in the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-finals was not complete for Vietnam. The team had two injuries with a bad prognosis: Vu Van Thanh and Ho Tan Tai.
Among them, Ho Tan Tai is the player who came on to replace Van Thanh in the second half. The possibility of these two players being absent from the upcoming two finals is quite high. Currently, the Vietnamese team only has one player who regularly plays on the right wing, Truong Tien Anh.
Previously, the Vietnamese team lost Van Toan due to a serious injury. Obviously, maintaining a healthy squad, avoiding unnecessary injuries and overloading is a problem for the Vietnamese team's coaching staff.
Undeserved penalty card
The Vietnamese team received 4 yellow cards in the match on the evening of December 29, with the cases of goalkeeper Dinh Trieu, defender Bui Tien Dung, Ho Tan Tai and striker Nguyen Xuan Son.
These are mostly unnecessary yellow cards due to unnecessary movements, in a not-so-tense match, when the team is leading and it is difficult for the opponent to turn the game around.
This number of yellow cards is more than the previous 5 matches combined (only 3 yellow cards). That shows that keeping a clear mind, avoiding unnecessary cards to avoid the risk of suspension is something that players should pay attention to.
After defeating Singapore with a total score of 5-1 in the semi-finals, the Vietnamese team has won a ticket to the final of the ASEAN Cup 2024. According to the tournament format, the final will be played over two legs. The Vietnamese team will play the first leg at home at 8:00 p.m. on January 2, 2025 at Viet Tri Stadium - Phu Tho.
