Singapore deserves points, Vietnam national team lacks surprise
After the 0-0 draw between Vietnam and Singapore in the third match of Group A of the ASEAN Cup 2026, commentator Quang Huy assessed that the away team has made clear progress compared to the confrontation about a year and a half ago.
He believes that coach Gavin Lee's mark is very clearly shown in Singapore's organization of play.
What Singapore has shown shows that they have improved a lot compared to when they met Vietnam about a year and a half ago. They have a very disciplined playing style, all positions know what they have to do and not just passively defend.
They are ready to launch counter-attacks at a time when Vietnam is pushing up. When our squad is stretched, they have very careful calculations. As long as Vietnam is negligent, they will exploit it immediately. I think the mark of the head coach of Singapore is very good in this tournament," commentator Quang Huy shared.
According to commentator Quang Huy, what surprised him was that coach Kim Sang-sik continued to use the same starting lineup as in the 7-0 victory over Timor-Leste.
He said: "There is another thing that I am also surprised about when coach Kim's Vietnam team has kept the same squad for two consecutive matches. Initially, I thought there would be one or two changes in the main squad today. But we kept the same squad as when we met Timor-Leste. Therefore, we did not create a surprise factor for the Singapore players.
By the time Mr. Kim made adjustments, Singapore began to have excitement and a very strong belief that they could score points in Vietnam.
However, he also assessed that the Vietnamese team was somewhat unlucky when they hit the goal twice.
Singapore also has luck in drawing on Vietnamese soil. But this is reasonable luck and also deserved because the tactics they set out are very reasonable. They have very specific calculations. Meanwhile, Vietnam is playing more and more impatiently, in some positions the feeling of tactical discipline is no longer met as before," commentator Quang Huy assessed.
The decision to replace Dinh Bac and the choice of Patrik Le Giang both have a basis
Besides the assessments of the game, commentator Quang Huy also analyzed coach Kim Sang-sik's decision to replace Nguyen Dinh Bac right at the end of the first half.
According to him, the striker born in 2004 has not met professional requirements in decisive situations and is somewhat affected by the excitement after his performance against Timor-Leste.
In the first minutes, Dinh Bac did not play as required. He had a chance but his handling was not reasonable. There was a situation where everyone saw that heading would be more reasonable but he chose volley. Of course, if he came in, it would be a very beautiful goal. But Korean coaches always value discipline and certainty.
Maybe Mr. Kim feels Dinh Bac is too excited after the match against Timor-Leste. Facing a very disciplined defensive opponent like Singapore, the more he plays, the harder it becomes for him. I think the substitution is also for Dinh Bac to learn a lesson," the commentator born in 1974 said.
Commentator Quang Huy also highly appreciated Nguyen Tai Loc's performance after being brought onto the field: "Tai Loc is also a talent. When he entered the field, he created new features, with a shot hitting the crossbar and many situations stirring up the situation in front of Singapore's goal. I think there are two factors, which are that Dinh Bac has not fulfilled his mission and Tai Loc can bring new features".
In the goalkeeper position, he agreed with the coaching staff giving Le Giang Patrik a chance. He said: "Coach Kim's assistants choose according to the performance of each time. At the previous Asian Cup, Dinh Trieu was very worthy. But at this time Le Giang is also a goalkeeper who is in very good form. In my opinion, choosing Le Giang is reasonable".
Closing the assessments after the draw with Singapore, commentator Quang Huy said that the Vietnamese team needs to quickly put aside the recent result to focus on the away match at the Indonesian stadium.
Don't think about being first or second in the group anymore, but play really well, first of all to get into the next round. The match against Singapore is already difficult, Indonesia is even a higher mountain. When overcoming that challenge, when facing any opponent in the semi-finals, the Vietnamese team will also be more calm," commentator Quang Huy emphasized.
