Not just a victory
It is no coincidence that coach Kim Sang-sik advocates building an attacking squad for the Vietnamese national team towards the ASEAN Cup 2026. 3 out of 4 opponents that Vietnam will face in the group stage, including Cambodia, Singapore and in the immediate future Timor Leste, will advocate playing defensively to minimize the number of goals conceded. Therefore, training in attack and diversifying resources in the forward line is what the Korean strategist soon oriented.
Looking from the gathering list, Mr. Kim Sang-sik summoned up to 9 players who can play in the role of strikers. After more than 1 month of training, the Vietnamese team has zoned off 2 attacking combinations. Xuan Son, Hoang Hen, Tai Loc will be the heavy "three-pronged" in the main squad. Meanwhile, the "triangle" Hai Long, Dinh Bac, Gia Hung play a strategic role, ready to create breakthroughs when put on the field. In addition, Mr. Kim still has 2 qualified reserve players, Nguyen Ngoc My and Nguyen Tran Viet Cuong.
The striker group of the Vietnamese national team has performed well in 4 practice matches before the ASEAN Cup 2026. 14 goals is the number that the players scored against Siheung FC, Yongin FC, Gangwon FC and Myanmar. Stable scoring efficiency and high form of many players bring coach Kim Sang-sik peace of mind before aiming for a big victory in the confrontation with Timor Leste in the opening match on July 24.
A noteworthy detail in the first training session of the Vietnamese team in Thailand. Mr. Kim advocated establishing some coordination situations on the opponent's half of the field. The implementation of throwing wings, corner kicks, exploiting set situations, coordinating live balls, exploiting aerial balls... was given by him and asked his students to perform meticulously. Any error was whistled, reminded, and demonstrated by him so that the Vietnamese team could ensure the highest accuracy for every ball.
Two years ago, Thailand's journey to the final began with a resounding 10-0 victory over Timor Leste. That is also what the Vietnamese team wants to aim for, through a victory with a large gap against the weakest representative of the tournament.
Fair competition with Indonesia
In Group A - ASEAN Cup 2026, Vietnam's biggest opponent is of course Indonesia. Even without the strongest force because the key players are not released by the managing club, the island nation team still has many potential dangers when facing Vietnam.
Therefore, before thinking about the difficult match to determine the top and bottom of Group A with Indonesia, the Vietnamese team needs to focus on maximizing goal difference when facing Cambodia, Singapore and Timor Leste. The lesson at the ASEAN Cup 5 years ago is something Quang Hai and his teammates do not want to repeat.
At that time, at the 2021 tournament, Vietnam did not have victories with a wide margin against Laos (2-0), Cambodia (4-0). In addition, the waste of opportunities in the 0-0 draw with Indonesia at the opponent's stadium caused coach Park Hang-seo's team at that time to only finish the group stage in second place. As a result, Vietnam was forced to meet a very strong Thailand right from the semi-finals. In the end, after losing both the first and second legs, the "Golden Star Warriors" became the former Southeast Asian champions.
Over time, the strength of many teams in Southeast Asia has changed. However, according to historical statistics, meeting Thailand from the semi-finals has never been a pleasant challenge for Vietnam, even at the peak of sublimation. Compared to Thailand, Malaysia or the Philippines are at least still "comfortable" opponents for Vietnam in the road to the final.
And to do that, Quang Hai and his teammates will have to make good use of the opportunities in the group stage. One of them is to win big against Timor Leste.
