It's hard to guess who Professor Kim will choose.

The 'matrix' of the right flank for the Vietnamese national team.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has identified several positions in the Vietnamese national team after the four group stage matches of the AFF Cup 2024. However, a right-back is not among them.

Over the past four matches, coach Kim Sang-sik has consistently rotated the right wing position. In the match against Laos, Truong Tien Anh took on this role. In the match against Indonesia, Ho Tan Tai was given the opportunity. In the match against the Philippines, Vu Van Thanh started. And in the most recent match against Myanmar, the right wing was again entrusted to Tien Anh.

Tien Anh in the national team jersey.

Coach Kim Sang-sik's players all performed adequately in these matches. Tien Anh played energetically, diligently contributing to both attack and defense, and delivered relatively good crosses to his teammates. The 1999-born defender's strength also lies in his corner kick ability, with well-placed passes. Tien Anh delivered a perfect pass for Hoang Duc to head the ball against the Myanmar goalpost, and earlier, a cross that nearly led to Xuan Son's opening goal with a header.

While Tien Anh excels in attack, Tan Tai is a good defender and also makes effective runs into the penalty area. As for Van Thanh, he possesses speed and technique, along with the ability to shoot from distance, as exemplified by his powerful shot that hit the crossbar of the Philippines' goal.

However, the problem with all three right-backs is that none of them have yet stood out enough to satisfy coach Kim Sang-sik.

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In a three-center-back formation (3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2), the roles of the two wingbacks are crucial. Coach Park Hang-seo's previous success was closely tied to quality wingbacks who were both attacking and defensively strong, such as Doan Van Hau and Nguyen Trong Hoang. Therefore, Coach Kim placed great emphasis on the wing positions, conducting numerous experiments as soon as he took charge of the Vietnamese national team.

Coach Kim Sang-sik still has concerns about the right wing?

However, only Van Vi on the left flank has brought a different kind of flair, although the Nam Dinh defender is under scrutiny after missed opportunities in the previous match. As for the right wing, after 6 months, Mr. Kim still leaves this position in a "waiting" state.

Who should we choose for the match against Singapore?

Against an opponent likely to play a deep defensive game like Singapore, Kim Sang-sik will prioritize a right-back who is a good attacking player, capable of providing additional options for the attack through his crossing, low passes, penetrating runs, or simply intelligent movement to stretch the opposing defense.

From this perspective, Tien Anh and Van Thanh have an advantage over Tan Tai. Tien Anh has a good physical foundation, consistently ranking among the top performers in physical fitness and endurance tests on the GPS system.

The 25-year-old defender is also very good at crossing, making him a good fit for a team with many quality strikers like Tien Linh and Xuan Son. In this V-League season, Tien Anh has had 3 crosses that resulted in goals, the most among defenders who have played for the national team.

Meanwhile, Van Thanh confidently penetrated the penalty area thanks to his acceleration, powerful shots, and ability to shift his weight to maintain stability with both feet. In South Korea, Van Thanh and Tien Anh each played a total of 3 halves (out of 6) in 3 friendly matches, with their performance being assessed as comparable.

Therefore, choosing who will play right-back depends on the tactics that coach Kim Sang-sik wants to pursue, rather than analyzing who is better than whom. This "mystery" on the right flank will make the Vietnamese national team even more unpredictable.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-tri-bi-an-nhat-o-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-kho-doan-thay-kim-chon-ai-185241223113643591.htm