After Indonesia's resounding victory over Cambodia in the opening match of Group A of the ASEAN Cup 2026, striker Mitchell Baker continues to become the focus of attention in the country's media thanks to his impressive performance.
The 1m96 tall striker, born in Australia and just made his debut for the Indonesian national team, scored a hat-trick against Cambodia. Outstanding form helped Baker quickly receive many compliments from experts as well as Indonesian media.
Before the confrontation between Indonesia and the Vietnamese team, Indonesian media quoted sources as saying that the coaching staff of the Vietnamese team is paying great attention to Baker and will develop a plan to limit the influence of this striker.
According to published opinions, coach Kim Sang-sik is likely to make personnel adjustments to cope with the 21-year-old striker's aerial ability and physique advantage.
Indonesian media also analyzed that the Vietnamese team owns young center-back Dinh Quang Kiet with a height of about 1m95, but this player still has little international playing experience. Therefore, the option of using more experienced defenders is considered likely to be considered by the coaching staff.
Among the options, Doan Van Hau is mentioned as a suitable option thanks to his physical foundation, ability to compete and international competition experience. Indonesian media assesses that the defender of the Vietnamese team may be assigned the task of marking Baker if the two teams meet.
However, the above assessments mainly stem from analysis and information from Indonesian media sources. Up to now, coach Kim Sang-sik as well as the coaching staff of the Vietnamese team have not made any official statements about personnel plans or plans to deal with Mitchell Baker.
The confrontation between Vietnam and Indonesia is predicted to be of great significance in the competition for the top spot in the group, as both teams aim to win tickets to the semi-finals of the ASEAN Cup 2026.
