ELEVATING THE NATIONAL TEAM
Winning the 2024 AFF Cup on Thai soil after defeating their arch-rivals in both legs is clearly a glorious achievement for Vietnamese football. This success not only helped us overcome our fear of the Thais but also helped the entire football system regain confidence to continue moving forward. Considering everything, the success in the AFF Cup is a logical outcome of the entire campaign, as the Vietnamese team fully utilized their potential and strength at the time, coupled with the fact that their opponents did not field their strongest lineups.
The tough battles in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will be another test, where teams will field their best players. For example, Malaysia, the biggest rival for the single qualifying spot in Group F (Vietnam is in the same group as Malaysia, Laos, and Nepal), is also preparing for a massive naturalization campaign to strengthen its squad to compete against us. The (partially) successful naturalization program of the Indonesian national team, or most recently the case of Xuan Son, is inspiring other countries in the region to follow.
Our rivals are getting stronger, while we will be without Xuan Son for the rest of 2025. Xuan Son's contributions in the 2024 AFF Cup were undeniable; many experts even believe that without him, we might not have been champions. Therefore, upgrading the national team will become extremely difficult for Coach Kim and the coaching staff. The best players, those in top form, have already participated and shone in the AFF Cup. The upcoming journey will also be without Ho Tan Tai, who recently underwent surgery. This has led Coach Kim to decide to end his leave early to use the time to watch V-League matches, assess the players' performance, and search for new talents for the national team.
The Vietnamese national team, having achieved success at the AFF Cup, will be motivated to conquer even greater heights.
It's difficult to find new faces, but with the lessons learned from the 2024 AFF Cup, coach Kim Sang-sik has identified the core group of players he needs for each position, as well as backup options. In addition, we still hope that quality foreign players who meet the criteria for naturalization, such as Hendrio ( Nam Dinh ) or Geovane (Ha Tinh), will be perfect additions, given the absence of Xuan Son.
Sifting through the sand to find gold for Vietnam U.22
While coach Kim Sang-sik is looking for new talents and methods to improve the senior national team, he and his colleagues have a lot of work to do with the U22 team. The Vietnamese U22 team is entering a transitional phase, but the suitable age group (born in 2003 or later) is too weak and insufficient. Coach Kim will have to carefully plan and prepare the core squad for the U22 team at the SEA Games 33 at the end of the year.
Coach Kim Sang-sik currently has many options in the attacking line of the Vietnam U.22 team.
During preparations for the 2024 AFF Cup, promising young players who could form the core of the SEA Games squad also participated in training camps with the national team, such as goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, midfielders Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Van Truong, Nguyen Thai Son, and forwards Nguyen Dinh Bac, Nguyen Quoc Viet, and Bui Vi Hao. Among these are players who have performed quite well in regional competitions, such as Van Khang and Vi Hao. However, these players are clearly not enough, as the journey to win the SEA Games 33 gold medal will be extremely challenging. This is because Southeast Asian countries are also investing heavily in youth development and nurturing future generations.
Therefore, besides "searching for gold" in the V-League, the Vietnam Football Federation and coach Kim Sang-sik are also aiming to utilize resources from overseas Vietnamese players. Names like Zan Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh City FC is actively completing the naturalization process for this 1.9m tall player), Aymeric Faurand-Tournaire, Viktor Le, and Andrej Nguyen could all potentially play for the Vietnam U22 team at the 2025 SEA Games. According to the plan, to support coach Kim Sang-sik in preparing for both the Asian Cup and the 33rd SEA Games, the Vietnam U22 team will be given the opportunity to train and practice alongside the national team during FIFA Days.
Fans hope that, having built a foundation with initial success, the Vietnamese national football teams will continue to develop their strengths, refine and correct their shortcomings to become increasingly perfect, capable of conquering the difficult challenges of 2025.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hanh-trinh-van-gian-nan-cua-hlv-kim-sang-sik-185250203210031649.htm
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