Vietnam vs Malaysia: Relying on Xuan Son to score, and who else?

Xuan Son is regaining his form, however, the Nam Dinh FC striker alone is not enough for coach Kim Sang Sik to feel confident about the attacking options for the Vietnamese national team.

The domestic striker was lackluster.

With almost half of the 2025/26 season underway, the availability of domestic strikers is causing coach Kim Sang Sik a real headache as he prepares for the Asian Cup qualifying match against Malaysia in March.

The concern is evident when looking at the current list of the top 10 players in the top scorer race, with only Hoang Duc making the list with 5 goals.

The V-League is currently witnessing the dominance of foreign strikers.

Meanwhile, players who were once considered pillars of the Vietnamese national team's attack, such as Tien Linh and Tuan Hai, have "disappeared" from the spotlight, scoring only 3 goals so far.

What the genuine domestic strikers are showing is enough to give the South Korean coach a headache, while the time for the match against Malaysia is fast approaching.

Who will help Kim Sang-sik resolve his problems?

In this context, coach Kim Sang Sik's greatest hope right now is the return of Xuan Son. However, the naturalized striker, currently playing for Nam Dinh, has clearly not yet reached his peak form after his injury.

Moreover, Nam Dinh's packed schedule in the coming period could complicate all calculations. The fact that the team has already secured a place in the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Champions League means Xuan Son will have to stretch himself thin across multiple fronts. If he unfortunately suffers a recurrence of injury or becomes overloaded, coach Kim Sang Sik will be in a difficult situation when the Vietnamese national team faces Malaysia again in March.

That's why coach Kim Sang Sik is worried.

Coach Kim Sang Sik's second hope rests on Dinh Bac, but despite his excellent performance and proven abilities at the U23 Asian Championship, the player from Nghe An province also has his own issues that need time to be addressed.

The problem for Dinh Bac lies in the fact that the top scorer of the U23 Asian Championship is not yet a key player at his club. In addition, the favorite pupil of coach Kim Sang Sik also faces the challenge of a demanding schedule at CAHN – which requires him to play in multiple competitions.

Therefore, it's no surprise that the head coach of the Vietnamese national team is looking to expand his attacking options with a proposal to naturalize Geovane, who currently plays for Ninh Binh .

The Brazilian player may not immediately meet the requirements to play against Malaysia in March, but this is clearly a far-sighted move, showing the South Korean coach's insecurity about the quality of the current purely Vietnamese attacking line.

Nevertheless, having to consider naturalization solutions also partly reflects coach Kim Sang Sik's biggest concern: the scarcity of domestic strikers with sufficient form and consistency.

Therefore, if the domestic strikers fail to regain their top form in the future, the pressure will fall on the shoulders of the South Korean strategist and the aforementioned expectations, and naturally, there will be many potential risks, not just a simple matter.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-dau-malaysia-trong-cay-xuan-son-ghi-ban-va-ai-nua-2488843.html