Vietnam National Team: Where is the new 'Xuan Son'? Coach Kim is searching with red eyes.

The striker gap in the Vietnam national team can only be solved if coach Kim Sang-sik has a strong enough midfield to control the game, along with the ability to score goals from various positions.

Vietnam team has striker crisis

"If the ball is difficult, just pass it... Xuan Son", a member of the Vietnamese team revealed the half-joking, half-serious advice of coach Kim Sang-sik at the AFF Cup 2024.

Xuan Son only needed 4 full matches at the AFF Cup to win the title of top scorer and best player of the tournament. The Brazilian striker single-handedly supported the Vietnamese team, thanks to his strength, speed, and excellent finishing ability.

Xuan Son will take the rest of 2025 off for treatment.

PHOTO: MINH TU

Thanks to Xuan Son, the national team's playing style has also become simpler: solid defense, quick transitions, and passing the ball over the line for Xuan Son to handle. With his body and thick muscles, Xuan Son can receive the ball, act as a wall for the second line, and independently fight with the defenders. Thanks to that, long passes from the defense have become sharp "weapons", neutralizing many tough defenses in Southeast Asia from Indonesia or Thailand.

However, without Xuan Son, the Vietnamese team's fast counter-attacking style and long passes are neutralized. In the loss to Malaysia (0-4 in June) in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, coach Kim Sang-sik arranged the team in a 3-4-3 formation, but without a pure striker, but only consisting of small attackers. However, the team still played long balls... as if Xuan Son was still there. Therefore, it was not difficult for Malaysia's tall central defenders to neutralize.

Finding a striker like Xuan Son is harder than... reaching the sky. Coach Kim Sang-sik has tried many options, such as reusing Tien Linh, playing a strikerless formation, experimenting with young strikers... but none of them have been effective. When Xuan Son has not yet set a date for his return, Mr. Kim needs a new solution. That is to change the philosophy, strengthen other defenses... so that the Vietnamese team can hold the field.

Returning from Brazil, Xuan Son went to the training field with Nam Dinh Club

Suggestions from the predecessor

To reform the Vietnamese team, coach Kim Sang-sik can refer to his predecessor Park Hang-seo.

At the 2019 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese team reached the quarter-finals, having a fair match with Japan, despite not having a pure striker. At that time, Anh Duc had just left the team, Tien Linh was still young... forcing Mr. Park to use a bold plan: using Cong Phuong in the role of "false striker".

Cong Phuong used to play the role of center forward in the Vietnam national team.

PHOTO: MINH TU

In theory, Cong Phuong plays the highest position in the attack, but he plays the role of dribbling, harassing opponents, and paving the way for his teammates behind him to run up. Cong Phuong's flexibility in position and good finishing skills are the catalysts that help the Vietnamese team's playing style change and diversify. That was also Cong Phuong's last impressive tournament. After that, he declined, losing his position to Tien Linh.

Without needing an outstanding striker, Coach Park Hang-seo still molds a Vietnamese team that is hard to beat. Because, Mr. Park has successfully built a team with a disciplined, pragmatic philosophy and clear tactics.

The three-man defense was solidified, the wings worked tirelessly to attack and defend, and the midfield combined fighting power and creativity. The striker was then simply a piece to complete the final step: finishing.

That is the "compass" for the Vietnam team. We cannot expect to have an "outstanding" striker like Xuan Son, but first of all we need a stable and well-controlled playing system.

However, most of the players from Mr. Park's time have now lost their form, while the successors are not up to par in terms of skill. Therefore, without a player who does everything like Xuan Son, the Vietnamese national team system has revealed many weaknesses.

Vietnam team needs to strengthen midfield

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

Coach Kim Sang-sik is still continuously filtering new factors from the V-League playground. There are still glimmers of light from Dinh Trieu, Ngoc Tan, Ngoc Quang or Hai Long... but none of them are sustainable. At this time, investing in the youth (U.23 generation) is the best option.

"Combining the new generation and the old generation will help the Vietnamese team become more competitive and diverse. However, the coach at the national team level can only choose the tactics that are suitable for the players. The ability of the players is not the business of Mr. Kim Sang-sik.

The inspiration from the AFF Cup and Xuan Son has passed, leaving the Vietnamese team with many worries. A "revolution" needs to be carried out, but it needs to be carried out together, instead of leaving Coach Kim alone.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-xuan-son-moi-o-dau-thay-kim-dang-do-mat-kiem-tim-185250903110235655.htm