Vietnam National Team: Coach Kim upgrades the attack with 'unique' elements

Coach Kim Sang-sik took advantage of the internal friendly match with U.22 to test and rotate the Vietnamese team's attack.

Vietnam team adds 'gun barrel'

The friendly match with U.22 lasted 3 rounds (each round 30 minutes) and helped coach Kim Sang-sik verify the current strength of the Vietnamese team. This was also an opportunity for Mr. Kim to test both the players and the playing style, in order to build a new look.

The Vietnamese team just won the AFF Cup 2024 6 months ago, but the seeds of innovation have begun right now. Injuries to a series of players such as Xuan Son, Viet Anh, Thanh Binh, Cong Phuong, combined with the decline of many key players, forced the coaching staff to change. Facing a Malaysia that is changing every day with a naturalized force, the Vietnamese team needs to change to adapt.

Van Vi (right) during the training session of the Vietnam team

PHOTO: VUONG ANH

The attack line is where coach Kim Sang-sik is "turning the Rubik's cube" the most, with a series of interesting options. In the internal match with U.22 yesterday (June 4), an extremely "strange" factor was tested in the role of attacking midfielder, that is Nguyen Van Vi.

In the match where Cao Pendant Quang Vinh was given priority to play left back, it seemed like Van Vi would have to sit on the bench. However, Mr. Kim pushed Van Vi to play as a left-sided attacking midfielder, playing right behind the striker. When the Vietnamese team developed the ball, Van Vi retreated to the middle of the field to create a bridge of coordination, moving the ball from the midfield to the front line. When the team needed to press to regain control of the ball, Van Vi moved wide, sometimes even moving higher than the striker to support the ball.

With the "strange bird" Van Vi in the attack, the Vietnamese team deployed the ball well, had many coordination moves, and created opportunities by passing the ball. Although in yesterday's match, the players mainly kept their positions, but the plan to push Van Vi to the attack line showed that coach Kim Sang-sik was open to any experiment.

Coach Kim Sang-sik is always innovative.

The option of placing Van Vi as a striker is not something that has just flashed through coach Kim Sang-sik's mind.

When leading the Southeast Asian Stars team to face Manchester United, Mr. Kim sent Van Vi onto the field in the second half and sent his students to attack. Although Van Vi did not have as much playing time as Nguyen Hai Long in the first half, when the player born in 1996 mainly ran to press and search for the ball, this was still a notable test.

Van Vi (red shirt) is versatile and has good attacking thinking.

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

Van Vi was chosen because he has good personal technique, neat first-step control, and an extremely "good" left foot to be able to dribble, accelerate, or shoot. Van Vi's 3 goals against Laos (double) and Cambodia in March showed the promising instinct to penetrate the penalty area to score goals of the player who only debuted for the national team in December 2024.

Van Vi, although playing left back at that time, was not purely a winger. The Nam Dinh FC player had the coordination to penetrate the center, hunt for space in the penalty area and boldly shoot.

Van Vi's powerful and dangerous kicks gave Mr. Kim a suggestion to upgrade the midfield, in the context that at this time, the Vietnamese team only had Hai Long and Chau Ngoc Quang as truly "trustworthy" attackers who could simultaneously press and hold the ball and coordinate well.

In the right attacking midfielder position, Hai Long is almost certain to get a place, especially when he is in good form and is regularly arranged by Mr. Kim to play as a starter. In the left attacking midfielder position, Van Vi will compete with Ngoc Quang.

On the forward line, Nguyen Tien Linh and Pham Tuan Hai must "race" fiercely until the last day to complete the decisive combination on the attacking front.

In the recent training sessions, both performed well, meeting the training plan, but Tuan Hai was better due to his ideal form and physical condition.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-thay-kim-nang-cap-hang-cong-bang-nhan-to-doc-la-185250605150757343.htm