Coach Kim Sang-sik can 'breathe easy' when facing the Philippines, here's why...

The Vietnam team will host the Philippines at My Dinh Stadium ( Hanoi ) on June 6, within the framework of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

This match is almost just a formality for both teams, as both Vietnam and the Philippines have almost no chance of advancing to the World Cup qualifiers. However, both sides are determined to win to avoid falling to the bottom of the table. Moreover, finding a victory to lift their spirits is also a necessary move, especially for the Vietnam team, preparing for the next international tournaments of the year (AFF Cup 2024).

In the first leg, Tuan Hai and his teammates won the Philippines with a score of 2-0.

The Philippine national team recently revealed that they will have many new players, preparing for the match against the Vietnamese national team. However, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has just announced that not all of the new players they are waiting for will appear at My Dinh Stadium on June 6.

For example, Gerrit Holtmann (playing for SV Darmstadt 98 in Germany), Raphael Obermair (SC Paderborn 07, Germany), John-Patrick Strau (FC Hansa Rostock, Germany) and Johannes Selvén (Odense BK, Denmark) will not be able to join the Philippines team for the World Cup qualifiers in June. All four players play on both wings, so the attacking ability of the team under coach Tom Saintfiet (Belgian) will be significantly reduced.

Coach of the Philippines team

The fact that the Philippines uses many new players who are playing abroad further reflects the low cohesiveness of this team. Many Filipino players are playing for the national team for the first time, or have only played a few times before in international matches, such as center back Marco Casambre (Sukhothai Club, Thailand, 2 times for the national team), right back Paul Tabinas (Vukovar 1991, Croatia, 3 times), defensive midfielder Michael Baldisimo (San Jose Earthquakes, USA, 2 times), midfielder Matthew Baldisimo (York United, Canada, never played for the national team), striker Jeremiah Borlongan (Cebu, Philippines, never played)...

With a squad that gathers many players from all over the country to play for the national team, not having many opportunities to play together, and not having much practice together, the easiest style of play that the Philippines usually applies is the high ball and long ball. That is the style of play that uses the simplest way to get the ball to the opponent's field. But in the few short days of training before the World Cup qualifiers in June, the Philippines does not have much time to practice team coordination. If the opponent chooses the simplest style of play, using high balls and long balls towards the goal of the Vietnamese team, it will not be difficult for coach Kim Sang-sik's team to control, provided that we use the right personnel.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-co-the-de-tho-khi-doi-dau-philippines-day-la-ly-do-185240520195541395.htm