Coach Kim Sang Sik's reforms

With two new signings, Khong Minh Gia Bao in defense and Nguyen Tran Viet Cuong in attack, coach Kim Sang Sik promises to make changes to the Vietnamese national team in the return match against Laos in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup on November 19th.

Viet Cuong in the Becamex Ho Chi Minh City FC jersey - Photo: VPF

But given his usual caution, perhaps coach Kim Sang Sik will only call him up for a test and then send him home, just like what happened with center-back Tran Hoang Phuc during the FIFA Days training camp in September.

A breath of fresh air for the defense.

Gia Bảo and Việt Cường, both 25 years old, are demonstrating good abilities in a position where the Vietnamese national team has been struggling recently. The only question is how well they will integrate during the short training camp so that coach Kim Sang Sik can drop his caution and give both of them a chance.

In this training camp, the Vietnamese national team has the familiar trio of central defenders: Duy Mạnh, Thành Chung, and Bùi Tiến Dũng. The reserve is Phạm Xuân Mạnh, who can play as a left-sided, sweeper, or right-sided central defender.

But besides the chemistry they've built over seven years playing together, the aforementioned players are all getting older and are no longer at their peak. Since the Laotian national team isn't particularly strong, experimenting with a new center-back is also a way to refresh and improve the defense for the future. That's also why Coach Kim chose Gia Bảo.

Standing at 1.75m tall, Gia Bảo may not have a great physique, but his tenacity, stamina, and excellent situational awareness are his strengths. The Ho Chi Minh City Police FC is currently among the top four teams with the fewest goals conceded in the V-League 2025-2026, with only 10 goals in 10 matches, thanks in no small part to the central defensive pairing of Matheus Felipe and Gia Bảo.

However, Gia Bảo still has much to improve, including his overly aggressive playing style (he has received 4 yellow cards in the V-League this season). Besides Gia Bảo, the return of versatile defender Phan Tuấn Tài is also something to look forward to.

Having returned to the squad for the FIFA Days in September after a long injury layoff, Phan Tuan Tai assisted Tien Linh's goal in a training match against Hanoi Police FC. However, he was not called up by coach Kim for the two recent matches against Nepal. Now, the 24-year-old has been recalled, as the left flank, once a strong point for the Vietnamese national team, is quite unstable due to the decline in form of Nguyen Van Vi.

Intense competition in the attacking line.

Coach Kim Sang Sik made quite a few surprising choices in the attacking line-up. Besides the return of naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son after a 10-month absence due to injury, Coach Kim also selected newcomer Viet Cuong alongside Tien Linh, Pham Tuan Hai, and Pham Gia Hung.

Without Xuan Son, the Vietnamese national team had already beaten Laos 5-0 in the first leg of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in Binh Duong in March of this year. Therefore, Xuan Son's inclusion in this training camp, given that he has only recently recovered from injury and hasn't played any official matches recently, is a risk. But Coach Kim understands what he needs to do to help Xuan Son return to his best form and increase competition in the attacking line.

In the four final qualifying matches for the 2027 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese national team scored 9 goals, but only 1 was scored by the forwards (Tien Linh). However, since Tien Linh and Tuan Hai are not in their best form, Viet Cuong could become an interesting "dark horse". This 1.80m tall striker has scored 2 goals in 6 matches (3 starts) for Becamex Ho Chi Minh City FC in the V-League 2025-2026, most recently a goal in the comeback victory against Hai Phong 2-1 in round 10.

Not only does Viet Cuong have an impressive physique, but he also possesses speed, technique, and good finishing ability. However, in Binh Duong, the excellence of a young striker is "meaningless" when the team has already had top strikers like Anh Duc, then Tien Linh, and even foreign strikers. Tien Linh's departure from Becamex Ho Chi Minh City to Cong An Ho Chi Minh City at the beginning of the season opened up more opportunities for Viet Cuong to showcase his talent and earn his first call-up to the Vietnamese national team.

Having a familiar partner from his former club, Tien Linh, Viet Cuong has the advantage of quickly adapting to coach Kim Sang Sik's tactical scheme and finding opportunities to play in the match against Laos. The remaining question is how Coach Kim will choose. This is because in the match against the weaker opponent Nepal, although Coach Kim didn't dare give many U22 players a chance, the Vietnamese team still won both matches against Nepal with difficulty.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuoc-cach-tan-cua-hlv-kim-sang-sik-20251108093931439.htm