Where is the left back, come out!

Vietnam Team: Stable, but not completely confident

Since Doan Van Hau's injury, the Vietnamese team has not been able to find a left-back who can play at the same level. Phan Tuan Tai, Vo Minh Trong, Nguyen Phong Hong Duy or even Khuat Van Khang... have all been given the opportunity. However, none of them have been able to create absolute trust for fans, like Van Hau did. Many experts such as commentators Ngo Quang Tung and Phan Anh Tu consider the left-back position to be the weakest position of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2024.

HLV Kim Sang-sik đau đáu nỗi lo lớn: Hậu vệ trái ở đâu, anh xuất hiện đi!- Ảnh 1. — Khuat Van Khang is likely to become the number 1 left-back of the Vietnam U.22 team at the 33rd SEA Games.

But with the rapid advancement of Nguyen Van Vi and Nam Dinh Club, the Vietnamese team has somewhat solved the problem in the left-back position at the AFF Cup 2024. The former Hanoi Club player contributed to the campaign to regain the Southeast Asian throne.

Year of the snake, chatting with 'poisonous snake' Kim Sang-sik: Loves MU, likes Zidane and is addicted to pho

However, to reach further goals, Van Vi alone is not enough. Coach Kim Sang-sik needs a higher-class left-back. And when completing the naturalization procedures, Jason Pendant Quang Vinh can become the "chosen one". But like Quang Vinh's teammate at the Hanoi Police Club, Nguyen Filip, he needs to learn Vietnamese well to communicate and integrate quickly in case he plays for the Vietnamese national team.

Vietnam U.22 Team: Coach Kim Sang-sik needs more options

Similarly, the Vietnam U.22 team is still lacking a truly quality left-back. Vo Minh Trong and Phan Tuan Tai, two players participating in the 32nd SEA Games, were both born in 2001 and are too old to participate in the regional tournament taking place later this year in Thailand. The two most likely options at this time are Khuat Van Khang (born in 2003) and Nguyen Bao Long (born in 2005), who were selected by coach Hoang Anh Tuan to participate in the 2023 AFC U.20 Championship.

HLV Kim Sang-sik đau đáu nỗi lo lớn: Hậu vệ trái ở đâu, anh xuất hiện đi!- Ảnh 2. — Bao Long was given many opportunities to play in the Vietnam U.19 team by coach Dinh The Nam when he was only 17 years old.

HLV Kim Sang-sik đau đáu nỗi lo lớn: Hậu vệ trái ở đâu, anh xuất hiện đi!- Ảnh 3. — Will Bao Long and Dinh Bac form a formidable attack at SEA Games 33?

Both Van Khang and Bao Long have impressive offensive support capabilities. They possess extremely skillful "left wingers", good at crossing and crossing the ball when climbing the sidelines. In addition, Van Khang also has the weapon of long-range shooting and dangerous free kicks. However, this duo also has a weak defense when their physique is quite "thin", easily facing disadvantages in one-on-one situations. Bao Long, in particular, is relatively inexperienced in top-level competition. He is "familiar" in youth tournaments with the U.17 and U.19 Vietnam teams but is only being honed in the first division in the PVF-CAND club shirt.

At this time, the U.22 Vietnam team has quality left wingers such as Bui Vi Hao and Nguyen Dinh Bac, so they also need more left fullbacks to turn this wing into a dangerous attacking area. Therefore, coach Kim Sang-sik and his colleagues need to monitor and observe more to find more potential left backs, thereby having more choices and creating healthy competition in the U.22 Vietnam team.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-dau-dau-noi-lo-lon-hau-ve-trai-o-dau-anh-xuat-hien-di-1852501311113175.htm