Vietnam Team: Coach Kim Sang Sik chooses Dinh Trieu or Nguyen Philip?

The number 1 position in the goal of the Vietnamese team against Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers may only be decided by... the feelings of coach Kim Sang Sik.

The race between Dinh Trieu and Nguyen Filip

As the Vietnamese team enters the decisive match against Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the focus is on the race for the goalkeeper position between two names: Dinh Trieu and Nguyen Filip.

The reason is that recently, besides their outstanding qualities, these two goalkeepers have also shown very high performance, so coach Kim Sang Sik did not easily make a decision for the number 1 position in the red team's goal in the match against Malaysia.

With Dinh Trieu, the goalkeeper from Thai Binh is still a solid support for Hai Phong throughout the last season (except for a few injury matches). Meanwhile, on the other side of the front line, Nguyen Filip also proved his high class, especially in the 2025 Southeast Asian Club Tournament, where CAHN Club won the runner-up title.

Dinh Trieu and Nguyen Filip are considered to be quite evenly matched.

Decided by… emotion?

In the context that both Dinh Trieu and Nguyen Filip have not made serious mistakes and have continuously shown stable performance, coach Kim Sang Sik is facing a difficult problem.

If choosing based on pure statistics, Nguyen Filip is slightly better in save rate, footwork ability, or height... compared to Dinh Trieu.

Deciding who to choose as the starting goalkeeper is not simple for coach Kim Sang Sik.

However, the understanding with the defenders through the ability to communicate in Vietnamese is what Dinh Trieu has over his teammate Nguyen Filip.

Because it is not easy to choose, it is likely that coach Kim Sang Sik will decide on the main goalkeeper for the Vietnam team in the match against Malaysia based on emotion rather than reason.

If so, it is very likely that Dinh Trieu will be chosen, because the goalkeeper from Thai Binh is the name that Mr. Kim Sang Sik himself brought to light, since the ASEAN Cup 2024.

Regardless of who is chosen, these are big decisions that directly affect the fate of the Vietnamese team against Malaysia. After all, the person who deserves to be the main goalkeeper will be the one who can inspire, keep a cool head and make a difference at the right time - that is the key point that Mr. Kim Sang Sik needs the most.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-hlv-kim-sang-sik-chon-dinh-trieu-hay-nguyen-philip-2408962.html