Challenges for the champion
The schedule of the Vietnamese team at ASEAN Cup 2026 is not as easy as many people assess. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team started with a light match against Timor Leste. A week later, Vietnam entered a rather hurried race. On July 31, Quang Hai and his teammates welcomed Singapore at My Dinh Stadium. The next day, the whole team had to immediately move to Bogor, Indonesia to prepare for the match considered the most difficult in the group.
Not mentioning the potential risks in the match against Singapore, the fitness of the Vietnamese team will be significantly affected by the above schedule. The players take 3 hours to get to Jakarta, and also have to travel by car for another hour to get to Bogor - where the match with host Indonesia takes place.
In parallel with that, the Indonesian team also moved from Thailand back home after the match with Timor Leste on July 31, with the same time, distance and method as Vietnam. However, it should be emphasized that this is a match that Indonesia plays at home under the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators. They also won 5-1 against Cambodia right on this stadium. This is a great advantage for Indonesia to be more confident in welcoming Vietnam on August 3.
Besides playing and moving in a very short time, the Vietnamese team also early recognized the difficulty coming from 2 direct competitors in Group A. Singapore does not possess the high level like Vietnam or Indonesia, but in return, the two victories against Cambodia and Timor Leste are like a morale booster for the lion island nation team to be determined to compete for a ticket to the next round.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian national team has made a major upgrade in the squad, compared to the 0-1 defeat to Vietnam at Viet Tri stadium 2 years ago. A large number of players with qualifications and many years of experience in Europe have appeared in coach John Herdman's list. Two of them are Thom Haye and Ragnar Oratmangoen. This duo was present when Indonesia defeated Vietnam 3-0 at My Dinh Stadium in March 2024.
Challenges from the stadium, travel schedule to the opponent are barriers, causing coach Kim Sang-sik to think.
What calculations for the Vietnamese team?
It is no coincidence that coach Kim Sang-sik "closed the door" to closed-door training on July 27th and 28th. This may be the time for the coaching staff and players to consider the force and tactical plans for the 2 matches against Singapore and Indonesia with close schedules.
In fact, coach Kim Sang-sik has early calculated the strategy for the home team when building 2 squads since the training trip in Korea. Before Yongin FC, Siheung FC and Gangwon, the Vietnamese team often used 2 squads for 2 halves. One frame includes Van Lam, Nhat Minh, Quang Kiet, Viet Anh, Tuan Tai, Thanh Long, Tai Loc, Hai Long, Ngoc My, Viet Cuong, Gia Hung. The remaining squad is Le Giang Patrik, Van Hau, Thanh Chung, Xuan Manh, Hoang Duc, Hoang Hen, Xuan Son, Dinh Bac, Hoang Duc, Quang Hai.
It will not be surprising if the first lineup takes the field in the match against Singapore, which may more or less surprise Singapore. Because if based on video data from the 2 wins against Myanmar and Timor Leste, the lion island team is likely to find ways to improvise with Xuan Son, Hoang Hen, Dinh Bac... instead of thinking about dealing with a different framework of the Vietnamese team.
With what Singapore has shown after 2 quite hard matches against Timor Leste and Cambodia, Gia Hung, Hai Long, Viet Cuong, Thanh Long... are fully capable of completing the task of winning 3 points at My Dinh Stadium. At that time, the main squad with a break of nearly 10 days can wholeheartedly focus on the goal of defeating the Indonesian team.
