Coach Kim Sang-sik's careful calculations

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will have an extremely important away match against Malaysia on June 10, the main opponent competing for the only ticket from Group F to the 2027 Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia.

Continuing the overseas Vietnamese wave

After the success of goalkeeper Dang Van Lam under coach Park Hang-seo, Nguyen Filip, another overseas Vietnamese player wearing the Vietnamese national team shirt, is no longer a stranger. His return this time is very convincing when he played very well for CAHN in the Southeast Asian Club Tournament - Shopee Cup 2025.

Những toan tính rất kỹ của HLV Kim Sang-sik - Ảnh 1. — With stable performance and scoring goals against Malaysia, Cong Phuong (left) is a timely and reasonable addition to the Vietnamese national team's attack. Photo: QUOC AN

Another Vietnamese-American player worth paying attention to is Pendant Quang Vinh. Returning from France after playing for the U16, U18 youth teams, Sochaux (France), New York Red Bull (USA), Pendant Quang Vinh came to CAHN, integrated well and played quite well this season.

Vietnam's left-back position has been a concern since Doan Van Hau was injured. Therefore, Pendant Quang Vinh is considered a suitable replacement, helping the team to be more solid in defense as well as participate in effective attacks, as he showed in the second leg of the final of the Southeast Asian Club Cup against Buriram.

Expanding the selection and considering calling overseas Vietnamese talents is a very reasonable decision of Mr. Kim.

Cong Phuong "haunts" Malaysia again?

Although he is a name that always attracts attention from football fans, in the past 2 years, the striker from Nghe An has always been "on the sidelines" in national team call-ups. The former HAGL striker is not afraid to go abroad, trying his hand at top football environments from Europe to Japan, but he has not been successful. The decision to return to Vietnam to play for Binh Phuoc Club is a wise choice, helping Cong Phuong recover his energy and gradually regain his peak form.

At this time, when Nguyen Xuan Son has not been able to return, Bui Vi Hao is also injured, the form of the 2024 Vietnam Golden Ball Nguyen Tien Linh and Pham Tuan Hai is unstable, Cong Phuong is a timely and appropriate addition to the attack of the "Golden Star Warriors".

Remember, Cong Phuong is always Malaysia's nightmare, Cong Phuong has scored 5 goals against Malaysia at all levels.

Experience preferred

Looking at the list of 23 players for the national team, Mr. Kim only called 2 names of U22 players. It is not because he is cold towards young players, it is just that the captain of the Vietnamese team is giving all priority to the experience factor.

Malaysia is the main opponent in Group F because this time there is only 1 ticket for the group winner to go to the 2027 Asian Cup Finals. In the past, Malaysia was a favorite opponent of the Vietnam team. Through 23 confrontations since 1991, we won 15 matches. And in the last 8 matches, Vietnam has never lost to Malaysia.

Host Malaysia is doing everything to overcome the Vietnamese team. They have mobilized all resources from naturalizing foreign players to players of Malaysian origin to improve the team, aiming to defeat the 2024 AFF Cup champion.

Faced with this reality, coach Kim Sang-sik has no time to experiment when facing Malaysia. He needs more experienced players rather than giving space for young players to "practice their skills". Prioritizing experience is to ensure that the Vietnamese team maintains a stable playing intensity, avoiding unexpected mistakes when facing the home team at Bukit Jalil.

"Using experience as a foundation, Mr. Kim still called on names that are in high form such as Chau Ngoc Quang (HAGL), Hai Long ( Hanoi )... They are factors with the ability to create high breakthroughs, enough to make the Malaysian team pay the price.