Unexpected incident causes Tien Linh to "disobey" coach Kim Sang Sik

(Dan Tri) - Striker Nguyen Tien Linh was substituted by coach Kim Sang Sik in the 82nd minute of the match against Nepal on the evening of October 9, but he was forced to "disobey orders" and stay on the field until the end of the match due to an unexpected incident.

The Vietnamese team won 3-1 against Nepal at Go Dau Stadium (HCMC) in the Asian Cup qualifiers with goals from Nguyen Tien Linh (9th minute), Pham Xuan Manh (67th minute) and Nguyen Van Vi (72nd minute). However, the most notable situation was Tien Linh's reaction at the end of the match.

Tien Linh's reaction when Nepal equalized 1-1 (Photo: Nam Anh).

In the 82nd minute at Go Dau Stadium, Coach Kim Sang Sik made a substitution. Duc Chien and Dinh Bac were about to enter the field to replace Duy Manh and Tien Linh. When the referee raised the electronic board, the camera immediately turned to Tien Linh and this player clearly showed surprise.

The reaction of the striker of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club made many people mistakenly think that he was showing his attitude when he was substituted, but in fact, he was just confused by the situation where his teammate Le Pham Thanh Long showed signs of pain on the sideline and could not continue playing.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Tien Linh quickly informed the coaching staff about Thanh Long's injury. Coach Kim Sang Sik immediately made a lightning-fast decision, asking his assistant to inform the referee to change another player.

Instead of withdrawing Tien Linh as originally planned, coach Kim Sang Sik decided to let this player stay on the field, and also substituted Thanh Long and Duy Manh. The Vietnamese team then played with a 4-3-3 formation and maintained the result until the end of the match.

With this victory, coach Kim Sang Sik's team maintains 2nd place in Group F with 6 points after 3 matches, close to the top team Malaysia with 9 points.

Tien Linh celebrates the opening goal for the Vietnamese team (Photo: Nam Anh).

After the match, Tien Linh and the whole team celebrated the victory, and he also explained his reaction when coach Kim Sang Sik made the substitution. “I did not react negatively. At that time, I was just a bit surprised because I did not know whether I would play or not,” he said.

The Vietnamese team will continue their journey to win a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup with the second leg against Nepal at Thong Nhat Stadium (HCMC) taking place at 7:30 p.m. on October 14.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/su-co-bat-ngo-khien-tien-linh-trai-lenh-hlv-kim-sang-sik-20251010074623435.htm