Coach Kim Sang-sik 'patched up' the Vietnamese team's defense, online tickets for the match against Nepal sold out

In the two matches against Nepal in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers (October 9 and 14), the Vietnamese team will likely introduce a new defense, almost completely different from the AFF Cup 2024, the tournament in which Vietnam won the championship.

Warning about Vietnam national team defense

At the AFF Cup 2024, coach Kim Sang-sik mainly used 3 central defenders Tien Dung, Duy Manh and Thanh Chung. In the semi-finals and finals, right-back Xuan Manh was also pulled in to play central defender. In addition, Mr. Kim has many good central defenders such as Viet Anh and Thanh Binh. They play solidly, calmly and very well together, creating a solid shield in front of goalkeeper Dinh Trieu's goal, a support for teammates above to confidently launch attacks.

Goalkeeper Dang Van Lam (center) returns to the Vietnam national team after a year of absence

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

But in recent months, the stars in the Vietnamese national team's defense have all had problems. In the 0-4 loss to Malaysia at Bukit Jalil Stadium in June, the trio Thanh Chung - Duy Manh - Tien Dung had too many difficulties against the opponent's naturalized attacking stars. This is something fans can sympathize with, because at that time, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team did not have much information when the opponent illegally naturalized players.

But when the V-League resumed, these defensive players could not maintain their high performance. Thanh Chung, Duy Manh, and even Xuan Manh are showing signs of slowing down. Tien Dung turned 30, somewhat affected by age. This was clearly shown in the one-on-one dispute with foreign player Gustavo of Ninh Binh Club in round 6 of V-League 2025-2026. Tien Dung was confused when his opponent was strong and skillfully shielded the ball, and he was forced to commit a foul in the penalty area and received a direct red card. Younger players like Thanh Binh and Viet Anh are injured and are still trying to recover.

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In the goalkeeper position, Nguyen Filip and Dinh Trieu are not in the best form. That is the reason why coach Kim Sang-sik called Dang Van Lam, who returned to the Vietnam team after more than a year of absence, and gave the opportunity to two young goalkeepers, Tran Trung Kien (HAGL), Nguyen Van Viet ( Viettel The Cong Club).

Opportunity for the U.23 Southeast Asian champions

During the FIFA Days training session in October, coach Kim Sang-sik called up 4 real central defenders. Besides the two veterans Tien Dung and Duy Manh, 2 new players were given the opportunity: Hieu Minh (PVF-CAND Club) and Nhat Minh ( Hai Phong Club). There are 2 other players who can play the central defender position, but Xuan Manh will most likely play right back, Duc Chien will play defensive midfielder, which is his forte.

The Vietnamese team has 4 players for 3 central defender positions and plays 2 consecutive matches. Obviously, this is a great opportunity for Hieu Minh or Nhat Minh to play. They can even start together. First of all, both young players are showing extremely high performance. Hieu Minh and Nhat Minh played extremely well in the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament, contributing greatly to helping the Vietnamese U.23 team win the championship and most recently, winning a ticket to the 2026 Asian U.23 Finals. This duo is also playing very well in the V-League, starting 100% of the time since the beginning of the season.

Each player has his own value for coach Kim Sang-sik to exploit. Hieu Minh is 1.84 m tall, the best in the current central defender squad of the Vietnamese team. He is also very good at aerial combat, has good finishing, and scored 2 goals in the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian tournament. Meanwhile, Nhat Minh is the only left-footed central defender, who can help the U.23 team optimize their ability to deploy the ball from home if he is placed as a left-sided central defender. When he has the ball in the opponent's half, Nhat Minh is also very dangerous with clever crosses and passes. He once assisted Van Khang to score, creating many dangerous finishing opportunities for his teammates in Indonesia.

In addition, coach Kim Sang-sik can also give opportunities to many other young players. For example, Van Khang and Phi Hoang are capable of taking on the left-back position, or Trung Kien is ready to start instead of his senior Van Lam. If the Vietnamese team takes the field with half of the players from the U.23 age group, that is also normal, because we have a squad of quality young players and these "young shoots" need to accumulate experience to develop.

According to information from the Organizing Committee, this morning (October 7), the Organizing Committee will sell tickets directly at Go Dau Stadium for the match between Vietnam and Nepal. Tickets for the two matches, sold online, have been sold out.

Nepal team arrives in Vietnam tonight

Coach Matt Ross has just announced the list of 24 Nepal players preparing for the match against the Vietnamese team. 27-year-old striker Anjan Bista and two veterans Rohit Chand and Kiran Chemjong are the most outstanding players of the opposing team. The remaining players are very young, currently playing for the Nepal U.23 and U.20 teams. Nepalese media assessed this as the best squad that Coach Matt Ross has in hand and the players will play their best to win points against the Vietnamese team. On the evening of October 7, the Nepal team arrived in Ho Chi Minh City and will practice one session before the match against the host Vietnam on October 9 at Go Dau Stadium.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-va-lai-hang-thu-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-ve-online-tran-gap-nepal-het-sach-185251006212837328.htm