On the evening of December 26, the Vietnam team played against Singapore in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-final at Jalan Besar Stadium. We still have the second leg of the semi-final at Viet Tri Stadium to decide the official ticket to the final.
“No one watches the Vietnam National Team play anymore” - that was the argument that was mentioned a lot before the ASEAN Cup 2024 took place. It is said that there are few Southeast Asian tournaments where tickets for the Vietnam National Team’s home matches are as easy to find as the recent matches against Indonesia and Myanmar.
But, after Nguyen Xuan Son’s performance and the overwhelming victory over Myanmar, everything changed. Tickets for the second leg of the semi-final between Vietnam and Singapore were sought after through many different channels, including online, direct ticket sales and “black market” tickets. There is nothing wrong with fans liking football to win, everyone wants to see national pride, joy and positive emotions.
However, the 3 points against Myanmar came in the group stage, against a weak opponent. Vietnamese fans need more than that. They want another perfect away win against Singapore. Xuan Son continues to shine, the Vietnam team's fiery attack will be like a magnet attracting tens of thousands of fans to Viet Tri Stadium.
The heat of the ticket to the stadium is seen as a mirror reflecting the level of success of Vietnamese football. And what happened at the ASEAN Cup 2024 once again portrayed the picture of Vietnamese football over the past year. The Vietnamese team is deep in crisis, continuous failure and the joy of victory suddenly becomes a luxury.
Therefore, when an anchor of hope like Nguyen Xuan Son appears, fans immediately flock to the stands. This is what coach Kim Sang-sik and his team need to take advantage of at this time. Overall, the Vietnam team has many opportunities to win this year's tournament.
Thailand is still the main rival, along with Vietnam, becoming the two most promising candidates for the throne. Do Duy Manh and his teammates have put all their efforts into the first leg of the semi-final at Jalan Besar Stadium. Only 70 Vietnamese fans were in the stands (the Singapore Football Federation only issued 70 tickets for the away team) and it was this small number that was the catalyst for thousands of other fans to "hunt" for tickets to enter the stadium when the team returned home.
At a press conference before the first leg of the semi-final, Mr. Kim Sang-sik said: “This is my first ASEAN Cup. The Vietnamese team is now in the semi-finals. It has been 6 years since the Vietnamese team won the championship. I hope to make a new history for Vietnamese football in this tournament.”
Coach Kim Sang-sik always reiterates the message that the mission of the Vietnam team is to bring joy and pride to the fans. This is also the way the Korean coach inspires the fans. First of all, everyone wants to see the great determination of the players and aim for a title.
Now is the time for the Korean coach and his students to take the most solid steps to do this.
Immediately after the 5-0 victory over Myanmar in the final round of the group stage, the Vietnam Football Federation opened ticket sales for the second leg of the ASEAN Cup semi-final on December 22, via an online application. In just 15 minutes of opening, all ticket categories were sold out. On ticket buying and selling groups on social networks, many people are still trying to find “black market” tickets despite knowing that the ticket prices are many times higher than the original price. This shows the attraction of the Vietnam team in the upcoming second leg of the semi-final.
