Vietnam team practices in preparation for the match against Malaysia - Photo: THANG NGUYEN
During the second training session in 2025, the Vietnamese team will have 1 week to prepare for the match against Malaysia in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup taking place on June 10 in Malaysia.
In recent years, the Vietnamese team has become accustomed to and adapted to this time frame, like many other teams in the region and around the world at each FIFA Days, instead of focusing monthly like under Park Hang Seo. Therefore, this is not a big difficulty for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team.
Mr. Kim let his students gather from May 29, start daily training from May 30 to June 5, before moving to Malaysia on June 6.
In the first 2 days of training, the Vietnamese team could not have the presence of 5 players who played in the V-League: Nguyen Quang Hai, Cao Pendant Quang Vinh, Nguyen Filip, Nguyen Tien Linh and Vo Hoang Minh Khoa.
Coach Kim also received bad news when Bui Hoang Viet Anh and Nguyen Thanh Binh were injured, so he had to add Dang Van Toi and Pham Ly Duc to replace them.
Not being able to have full squad numbers in the early days due to players being injured or busy with club-level duties is not a new thing, Mr. Kim is used to this.
The only obstacle for coach Kim is that he doesn't have much time to test new faces. Cao Pendant Quang Vinh is one of four players considered "new" to the Korean strategist, along with Nguyen Duc Chien and Nguyen Cong Phuong.
Duc Chien and Cong Phuong both practiced from the first day, but were overloaded and had to take 2 days off. Cao Quang Vinh will not be present until June 1. If nothing changes, this group of players will only have 5-6 days to show their skills to Coach Kim and adapt to the playing style of the Vietnam team.
With his outstanding class, Cao Quang Vinh was already a target of Mr. Kim Sang Sik before he got Vietnamese nationality. Meanwhile, Cong Phuong was always out of Mr. Kim's plan, only returning to the national team after shining continuously in the First Division.
Duc Chien was once called up by Mr. Kim, but it took nearly a year to be called back. Van Toi is completely new, having never been called up to the national team before.
All four players were called up to fill or supplement positions that Coach Kim trusted but had problems.
This group will still accompany the trip to Malaysia on June 6, but there is no guarantee that they will immediately have a place to play in the important match on June 10. Because with limited time, any choice outside the safe zone will be risky.
Along with the national team, U22 Vietnam also trains at the same time and place (VYF Youth Football Training Center) to prepare for the U23 Southeast Asian Finals, a tournament in which U23 Vietnam is the defending champion.
This is also an important front for the process of building forces for the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games taking place at the end of this year.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tro-ngai-cua-hlv-kim-sang-sik-20250602084543081.htm
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