The Vietnamese team actively practices and completes the squad for the match against Malaysia - Photo: VFF
Therefore, coach Kim Sang Sik continues to calculate and perfect tactics in recent days before facing Malaysia on June 10 in the second match of Group F of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
Build a solid defense
Throughout the training match with U22 Vietnam in Hanoi and the training sessions in Malaysia, Coach Kim Sang Sik maintained the 3-4-3 tactical formation and almost did not change the personnel in the starting lineup. Despite Thanh Chung not being in 100% physical condition due to playing continuously for Hanoi FC in the V-League, the Korean coach still trusted this central defender to be in the center of defense.
Thanh Chung's experience, courage and class are what make Mr. Kim put absolute trust in his student to command the defense to face the naturalized strikers of Malaysia. Playing alongside Thanh Chung are two veteran central defenders Duy Manh (right) and Bui Tien Dung (left).
It is noteworthy that Duc Chien was only tested by Mr. Kim in the role of central defender instead of defensive midfielder, and will be a backup option for Thanh Chung. Similarly, Pham Xuan Manh is also a backup option for Duy Manh or Bui Tien Dung instead of being a regular starter like in the ASEAN Cup 2024.
With the goal of winning points on the Malaysian field, coach Kim Sang Sik needs to build a solid defense to support the Vietnamese team before thinking about scoring against the opponent. Because no matter what, the quality of Malaysia's naturalized strikers cannot be underestimated. Especially the new strikers are all playing in major national championships such as Argentina, Colombia or Türkiye.
"With the naturalized players on the Malaysian side, we have researched but there are also many new names that we have not had the opportunity to confront. However, the Vietnamese team always maintains the most comfortable spirit, respects the opponent but is not afraid of anyone," center back Thanh Chung affirmed.
Cong Phuong had to leave the national team due to injury - Photo: HOANG TUNG
Prepare every option
The left wing, which was thought to be a headache for coach Kim Sang Sik due to having many quality players with high performance, has finally been resolved satisfactorily by him. Newcomer Cao Pendant Quang Vinh has been "tested" by Mr. Kim for the left-back position since the first days of training, and up to now, he is very satisfied.
The quick adaptation and impressive defensive ability of the Vietnamese-French player has helped coach Kim Sang Sik boldly push defender Nguyen Van Vi to play left forward throughout the past time to increase the attacking power. The backup positions for Quang Vinh and Van Vi will be Khuat Van Khang and Pham Tuan Hai respectively. With the speedy "drill" Van Vi on the left wing and Hai Long equally good on the right wing, the Vietnamese team is truly formidable.
Assessing Malaysia's strong midfield with naturalized or Malaysian-born central midfielders, coach Kim Sang Sik showed that he still put his trust in the attacking duo Hoang Duc - Minh Khoa rather than testing Duc Chien to replace Minh Khoa for a safe defensive formation. This shows that the Korean coach wants to win, not draw, at the "fire pit" Bukit Jalil with a capacity of nearly 90,000 spectators.
Even the backup for the Hoang Duc - Minh Khoa duo is also the attacking midfielder pair Quang Hai - Chau Ngoc Quang. According to the coaching staff, what coach Kim Sang Sik needs to do is just change the appropriate tactics after analyzing the opponent one more time before the match day. "From this analysis session, coach Kim Sang Sik will decide whether to adjust or change anything in the starting lineup in the final tactical training session," said the assistant.
In fact, the coaching staff of the Vietnamese team proactively collected video footage of Malaysia's two most recent matches, when they beat Nepal 2-0 in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup and drew 1-1 with Cape Verde in the first leg of a friendly match to study their opponents early.
Because Malaysia lost the second leg of the friendly match 0-3 and was played behind closed doors, there is no video recording. The formation and position of each Malaysian player has been carefully analyzed by the coaching staff. However, there is not much information about the 5 newly naturalized foreign players on how they play on the field, because none of them played in the above mentioned Malaysian match recordings.
Whether these naturalized foreign players will be able to stay in the official list of 23 players of Malaysia is still unclear when facing noisy suspicions about circumventing the naturalization law, but the Vietnamese team is not subjective. Accordingly, coach Kim Sang Sik and analysts have taken the opportunity to find the videos of these foreign players playing at the club to watch and understand how to play.
Actively perfecting the squad and being proactive in every situation, the Vietnamese team is ready to win three points against host Malaysia.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vong-loai-cuoi-asian-cup-2027-tuyen-viet-nam-choi-the-nao-truoc-malaysia-20250609082016691.htm
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