Why was Tien Linh chosen?
Despite playing fairly regularly and currently being the second-highest scorer for the Vietnamese national team in the ASEAN Cup 2024, Tien Linh lost his starting spot after the match against Indonesia in the group stage.
However, in the second leg of the final against Thailand, there is a high probability that the striker from Hai Duong will return to the starting lineup and partner with Xuan Son in attack.
Tien Linh will return to the starting lineup. Photo: SN
The reason for choosing Tien Linh is that coach Kim Sang Sik will have the Vietnamese team play with a 5-3-2 formation (or 3-5-2 when attacking) in order to maintain their 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
This is understandable, because the South Korean coach certainly doesn't want his team to play defensively; on the contrary, he still needs strikers who can make Thailand wary and also handle counter-attacking situations, so Tien Linh's experience and goal-scoring ability are the right choice.
And the remaining adjustments.
With the advantage of winning the first leg, and Thailand demonstrating their attacking prowess, coach Kim Sang Sik will also reinforce his midfield, agreeing to play with two strikers (with the condition that they take turns returning to support the defense from afar) namely Tien Linh and Xuan Son.
And that will help the Vietnamese team win. Photo: SN
This is necessary because having only Ngoc Tan and Hoang Duc guarding the area in front of the central defenders is certainly not enough, so it's likely that coach Kim Sang Sik will bring in another midfielder with strong defensive capabilities to intercept attacks from afar.
Currently, only Thanh Long remains in this position, but with the midfielder having played very little since the start of the season, coach Kim Sang Sik will need to consider his options further. Alternatively, the South Korean coach might even move Thanh Chung up to play midfield, given the surplus of center-backs…
Another position that coach Kim Sang Sik will change is on the right wing, with Tien Anh likely to start in place of Van Thanh before making adjustments on the field depending on the course of the match…
Vietnam's expected lineup: Dinh Trieu, Tien Anh, Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, Xuan Manh, Van Vi, Ngoc Tan, Thanh Long, Hoang Duc, Tien Linh, Xuan Son
Vietnamnet.vn
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/doi-hinh-viet-nam-dau-thai-lan-tien-linh-da-chinh-2360114.html
![[Video] The craft of making Dong Ho folk paintings has been inscribed by UNESCO on the List of Crafts in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/402x226/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/12/10/1765350246533_tranh-dong-ho-734-jpg.webp)
Comment (0)