Is coach Kim Sang-sik in a hurry with Xuan Son?

Is coach Kim Sang-sik in a hurry with Xuan Son?

Mental boost

The official list for the Vietnam national team to compete with Laos on November 18, within the framework of the 5th round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers has not been announced. However, according to confirmation from Nam Dinh Club, Nguyen Xuan Son is in the plan of coach Kim Sang-sik. For the first time in 11 months, the naturalized player has returned to the "Golden Star Warriors". Throughout nearly a year, Xuan Son had to treat an injury, after his efforts to contribute to the journey to win the AFF Cup 2024 with the Vietnam national team.

Xuan Son is eager to return to the Vietnam national team.

Xuan Son's presence in the national team's roster has brought excitement to the majority of fans. Firstly, it shows that the player's injury recovery process is on track. The commitments that the striker born in 1997 can return to the field by the end of the year from many experts are completely correct.

Compared to other cases like Van Hau or Dinh Trong in the past, Son's recovery on schedule brings relief to fans as well as strengthens the trust of the Vietnamese medical team. Instead of having to spend a lot of money to go abroad for surgery and treatment, players can rest assured in the facilities, medical work, and physical therapy in the country.

In the past month, Xuan Son has been training with the same intensity as the regular players in Nam Dinh. During his tenure, Coach Vu Hong Viet also used Xuan Son in the 15-minute period when the home team of Thien Truong Stadium played against PVF-CAND. The volume and time of real combat on the field with high competition for the Brazilian striker has also increased significantly in the last 2 weeks. That is also the reason why the Nam Dinh coaching staff is impatiently waiting for the time to register Xuan Son, in the second phase of V.League or AFC Champions League.

As for the other front called the National Cup, Nam Dinh's most dangerous striker is eligible to play. Xuan Son's steps on the field, even though it's only been for a certain period of time, are enough to bring excitement to the fans. Especially when they have seen him continuously score goals from the club level to the Vietnam National Team.

Coach Kim Sang-sik's intention

Returning to the national team level, coach Kim Sang-sik is well aware of Xuan Son’s recovery and training progress. This is the motivation for him to decide to give him the opportunity to return to the “Golden Star Warriors”. Based on Xuan Son’s training with the Vietnamese players, Mr. Kim and the coaching staff will have a better understanding of the amount of time this player needs, based on his current physical condition.

Son's presence creates a lever of attraction for the Vietnam national team. This is something that was lost when the "Golden Star Warriors" did not play well against Nepal, in 2 somewhat lackluster victories in October. In addition, Son also makes Tien Linh, Tuan Hai, Hai Long, Gia Hung... have to try harder, if they do not want to lose their positions. In the whole year of 2025, when Son was absent, the Vietnam national team did not convert opportunities well. The big responsibility belongs to the strikers, when they cannot perform well the assigned tasks.

From Xuan Son's perspective, this player was also more excited when he heard the news of being called up to the Vietnam national team. "I'm hungry" is the latest share from this striker. He was so eager to return to the team that he even reposted a photo of himself wearing the Vietnam shirt and fighting fiercely for the ball against two Thai stars in the AFF Cup 2024 final. Obviously, the decision from coach Kim Sang-sik "hit the psychology" of expectation from this striker.

Based on what Son will practice with the Vietnam national team, Mr. Kim can use him for about 15-20 minutes, when the Vietnam national team plays Laos in Vientiane on November 18. In the context that Malaysia is at risk of being disqualified or eliminated from the 2027 Asian Cup campaign by the AFC, a draw or better against Laos is enough for Kim Sang-sik's team to enter the Asian finals. Son's appearance also strengthens this hope.

Of course, coach Kim Sang-sik knows the story of Mr. Park Hang-seo by heart. The haste in using a star who has not fully recovered from injury to ensure results will not happen to Xuan Son at this time. However, fans still have worries. That is, even when on the field for a short time, Xuan Son can still become the focus of tackles from opponents. The risk of injury occurs to any player. And with a "recently discharged patient" like Xuan Son, the possibility of relapse will be greater in the face of collisions from the opposing team.

Concerns and even heated debates from fans surrounding the story of coach Kim Sang-sik calling Xuan Son are understandable. This is also something that the Korean coach needs to pay attention to when discussing with the 28-year-old striker and the team's medical team to use him appropriately.

U22 players accompanying

According to the plan, the Vietnamese team will gather from November 10 to 19, 2025. After gathering at the Vietnam Youth Football Center, the team will move to Viet Tri ( Phu Tho ) to practice from November 11 to 14. From November 15 to 19, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will go to Laos to compete in the 5th round of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup against the representative of the land of a million elephants.

Similar to the October gathering, Coach Kim Sang-sik will call 8-9 U22 Vietnam players to gather and compete with their seniors. This will help the young talents accumulate experience in top-level competition from Xuan Son, Duy Manh, Tien Linh... as well as the actual combat process with the Laos national team.

This is valuable information for the core U22 Vietnam team to be more confident in their journey to conquer the SEA Games Gold Medal in Thailand in December.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-kim-sang-sik-co-voi-vang-voi-xuan-son--i787263/