Kim Sang Sik's last military training

Kim Sang Sik - Ảnh 1. — After winning the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, Coach Kim Sang Sik will conquer the 33rd SEA Games gold medal - Photo: VFF

In 6 short days, Coach Kim Sang Sik had to quickly find a new solution to replace central midfielder Nguyen Van Truong (injured), and also had to upgrade the team's strength to achieve the goal of winning the gold medal.

Worrying performance of many pillars

Because 12/28 players were busy competing in the round of 16 of the 2025-2026 National Cup, it was not until noon on November 24 that the U22 Vietnam team had enough players to enter the first training session in the afternoon of the same day. Of these 12 players, only 9 were able to play and not all performed well.

Midfielder Viktor Le started for Hong Linh Ha Tinh Club when facing the host club Truong Tuoi Dong Nai First Division. In 80 minutes on the field, Viktor Le did not have many outstanding situations, when coach Nguyen Cong Manh arranged for him to play as a striker with Atshimene.

Similarly, striker Dinh Bac (Hanoi Police) could not create peace of mind either. Dinh Bac once put the ball into the net of The Cong - Viettel Club in the first half but was not recognized by VAR because of offside, and once his shot went wide of the post at the beginning of the second half.

Meanwhile, Khuat Van Khang played very well to make the comeback of The Cong - Viettel against Cong An Ha Noi . Van Khang made center back Dinh Trong receive a red card in the 84th minute and then forced center back Hugo Gomes to commit a foul in the penalty area to bring about a valuable 11m penalty in the 90th minute, helping Lucao score the equalizer 2-2.

Striker Quoc Viet also played poorly in Ninh Binh FC's 2-1 comeback win over host Hai Phong. He was replaced in the 69th minute by Nguyen Le Phat - the new striker called up by Mr. Kim.

Overseas Vietnamese midfielder Tran Thanh Trung - who was expected to replace Van Truong - also failed to make an impression and left the field in the 69th minute. Consoling Mr. Kim is that central midfielder Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong is showing good form for the HCM City Police Club.

Decisive Week

In the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and the 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers, although U22 Vietnam controlled the ball more, they were unable to create breakthroughs in their playing style or scoring. In the final stages, the young players all appeared hasty or lacked ideas for effective ball deployment.

The deadlock in the way of deploying the ball shows that coach Kim Sang Sik is still struggling to find a solution to the problem of creativity in the midfield. The injury of midfielder Van Truong makes the midfield even more chaotic.

Therefore, Mr. Kim needs to quickly find an alternative solution in the last 6 days of training in Ba Ria in the context that the current central midfielders are not performing as expected.

19-year-old young talent Cong Phuong was not registered by The Cong - Viettel Club for the National Cup match against Cong An Ha Noi. The same was Duc Viet of Ninh Binh Club in the match against Hai Phong.

Up to now, the midfielder who was recently called up to the Vietnam U22 team has only played 13 minutes in the opening match of the National Cup against Xuan Thien Phu Tho. The lack of playing time is a big obstacle for Duc Viet and Mr. Kim himself in renewing the midfield.

In that context, putting faith in Tran Thanh Trung is probably the most suitable option for coach Kim Sang Sik. At the recent Panda Cup 2025 in China, despite having Van Truong, the U22 Vietnam team still showed limitations in developing the ball against strong opponents.

Therefore, Mr. Kim needs a central midfielder with a better football mindset. This is what Thanh Trung has when he possesses good technique, quick maneuvering in a small area, modern tactical vision. More importantly, this 20-year-old player has the ability to quickly switch from defense to attack.

Thanh Trung's problem is that he has little time to play with his teammates in U22 Vietnam to create harmony. Besides, his weakness in competition and physical strength is also a problem when playing at high intensity.

In addition to the midfield, perfecting the finishing ability of the strikers is also something coach Kim Sang Sik must focus all his efforts on in Ba Ria before finalizing the list of 23 players to go to Thailand.

Back to topic

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuoc-ren-quan-cuoi-cung-cua-ong-kim-sang-sik-20251125094912504.htm