The Vietnamese team still has time to prepare for the match next October.

The Vietnamese team has concluded its September training session to review and test its squad, preparing for the next match in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup in October.

The FIF Days training session of the Vietnamese team in September has quietly passed. This is a training session in which the Vietnamese team did not invest in terms of personnel or opponents to compete. Coach Kim Sang Sik is also leading the Vietnamese U23 team to compete in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers, and the right to direct the Vietnamese team is given to assistant Dinh Hong Vinh.

Vietnam team during the September training session. Photo: VFF

In terms of personnel, the Vietnamese team has called up 24 players. In addition to familiar faces such as Quang Hai, Hoang Duc, Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, Tien Linh, etc., the coaching staff also gave opportunities to many new players including striker Pham Gia Hung, defender Tran Hoang Phuc and young center back Dinh Quang Kiet.

The team's strength has changed when midfielder Doan Ngoc Tan had to withdraw due to injury. In addition, Quang Hai and Hai Long could not participate due to pain. To supplement, head coach Kim Sang Sik called up left-back Phan Du Hoc (HAGL).

According to information from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), in the first match against Nam Dinh Blue Steel - an opponent using a squad of 11 foreign players, the Vietnamese team lost 0-4. In the second practice match against Hanoi Police, the Vietnamese team won 4-3.

Looking at this training session as a whole, it can be seen that the most important thing in the two practice matches is not the result of winning or losing, but rather the assessment of the performance of the pillars, the integration level of the new players, as well as testing tactical options, thereby perfecting the preparation for the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

In June, the Vietnamese team suffered a 0-4 defeat to Malaysia in the second match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. This result caused coach Kim Sang-sik and his team to lose the top spot in Group F and face difficulties.

The problem pointed out has both subjective and objective factors. The fact that Malaysia has naturalized players with enhanced quality makes them different. Besides, it must also be admitted that the Vietnamese team's attack is not in good form.

Coach Kim Sang Sik was optimistic after the loss: “Regarding how to prepare for the return leg in Hanoi , first, I think we need to accept the fact that the Malaysian team has become stronger thanks to the new naturalized players.

But football always has room for miracles. If we prepare well for the return match, I think we still have a chance to make up for the four goals we lost. The return match in Hanoi will decide the top spot in the group."

According to the format, only the top teams in the group can qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup finals hosted by Saudi Arabia. In the last two Asian Cups (2019 and 2023), the Vietnamese team qualified. The most notable achievement was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2019 Asian Cup.

In the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, 24 teams will be divided into 6 groups of 4 teams each, playing in a round-robin format at home and away, from March 25 to March 31, 2025. The top team in each group (6 teams) will qualify for the final round.

In October, the Vietnamese team will gather again and play two home and away matches against Nepal. The goal of coach Kim Sang Sik and his team is to get the absolute score. The Vietnamese team needs to accumulate important points to prepare for the decisive match against Malaysia in March next year.

There is still one month to prepare and choose the best players, hopefully coach Kim Sang Sik will have the best squad.

Malaysia team well prepared

The Malaysian team continued to show its strength ahead of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. In the second friendly match in September, the Malaysian team (ranked 125th in the world ) won 1-0 against the Palestinian team (ranked 98th). The only goal was scored by striker Joao Figueiredo. This was the third consecutive match that this naturalized player scored for the Malaysian team.

Previously, Joao Figueiredo scored a goal in the home team's 4-0 victory over Vietnam and 2-1 victory over Singapore.

Compared to the 2-1 victory over Singapore, the Malaysian team did not have the services of two naturalized stars, Facundo Garces and Dion Cools, in the match against Palestine. Coach Peter Cklamovski gave the opportunity to play for three non-naturalized players, Shahrul Saad, Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar and Dominic Tan. They, along with Quentin Cheng, had an excellent match, discouraging the Palestinian strikers.

Coach Peter Cklamovski emphasized that what he was most happy about was not only the result, but also that the Malaysian team showed that they were not too dependent on naturalized players. With local players, the Malaysian team could also create a solid and effective defense, even when facing a stronger opponent like Palestine.

With two hard-fought victories over Singapore and Palestine, Malaysia will certainly improve their ranking after the FIFA Days in September 2025. More importantly, it will help Malaysia prepare best for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, which will continue next October.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/van-hoa/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-con-thoi-gian-chuan-bi-cho-tran-dau-o-thang-october-toi-i780884/