Vietnam Team: Why did coach Kim Sang Sik call Xuan Son to play against Laos?

Coach Kim Sang Sik will not call up many young players to the Vietnam national team in the match against Laos in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on November 19.

Preparing for the match against Laos, in the second leg of Group F, Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, coach Kim Sang Sik is expected to announce the list of players for the Vietnamese team this week.

Compared to the October gathering to play two matches against Nepal, the Vietnam team's roster has changed a lot. The Korean strategist can "return" young players to the U22 Vietnam team, and at the same time call up many veterans to the national team.

During the October training session, 8 U23 players were promoted to the Vietnam national team by coach Kim Sang Sik, including: goalkeeper Trung Kien, Hieu Minh, Phi Hoang, Nhat Minh, Xuan Bac, Van Khang, Thanh Nhan and Dinh Bac.

U22 Vietnam gradually forms the framework to prepare for SEA Games 33. Photo: VFF

Coach Kim Sang Sik's decision to rejuvenate the national team is very reasonable because the match against Nepal does not have much pressure (in fact, they won both the first and second leg matches), besides creating opportunities for young players to compete and accumulate experience towards the SEA Games.

However, in the upcoming training session, coach Kim Sang Sik must recalculate, because this is the time when U22 Vietnam has an important training session, with 3 extremely high-quality matches against U22 China, U22 Uzbekistan and U22 Korea, at the international friendly tournament Panda Cup 2025 (China).

The eight young players that coach Kim Sang Sik promoted to the Vietnam national team in October are all pillars, part of the main frame of the Vietnam U22 team, so they need to be "assembled" and tested for the 33rd SEA Games as well as the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

Of course, with professional requirements, coach Kim Sang Sik can still use a few young faces, but in general, the Vietnamese team will have the presence of many veterans in this training session.

Xuan Son returns to the Vietnam national team. Photo: SN

One of them is striker Nguyen Xuan Son. The striker from Nam Dinh Steel Blue has almost recovered from a broken leg injury and is ready to return to the national team. This is also an opportunity for coach Kim Sang Sik and the medical team to accurately assess Xuan Son's performance in preparation for the decisive match against Malaysia in March 2026.

In addition, some familiar faces absent from the two matches against Nepal such as Thanh Chung, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Quang Hai... may also be in coach Kim Sang Sik's usage plan.

Besides changes in the squad, the Vietnamese team in the upcoming match against Laos needs to refresh their playing style and fighting spirit, after their poor performance in the two wins against Nepal in October.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/vi-sao-hlv-kim-sang-sik-goi-xuan-son-len-tuyen-viet-nam-dau-lao-2458687.html