Coach Kim Sang-sik: ‘The Vietnamese team will fight to win against the Philippines and enter the semi-finals soon’

The Vietnamese team faces the Philippines at 8:00 p.m. on December 18 at Rizal Memorial Stadium, within the fourth round of Group B AFF Cup 2024. With 6 complete points thanks to 2 victories, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are at the top. table, while the Philippines ranked third with 2 points (drawing both matches).

If they defeat the Philippines, the Vietnamese team will enter the semi-finals one round early with first place in the group. This is also the goal the whole team is aiming for, to easily calculate in the final match.

Coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed: “The Vietnamese team is very hopeful and ready, despite the difficult schedule. The team has not lost in the group stage, so we will try to win to enter the semi-finals soon. We I’m really ready to prepare for tomorrow’s match.”

The Vietnamese team won the Philippines in all 5 recent encounters, scoring 12 goals and conceding 5 goals. At the opponent’s Rizal Memorial Stadium alone, Quang Hai and his teammates also won both of their most recent away trips.

However, the challenge for the Vietnamese team will come on the artificial field in Manila. In the context of very little time to prepare for matches, adapting to the new turf is a challenge for Mr. Kim and his team.

“Some members of the Vietnamese team have experience playing on this field. In Korea, we also practice on artificial turf. At the same time, the coaching staff has a plan to remind the players to play well. best”, coach Kim Sang-sik assessed.

The Korean strategist once joined the Vietnamese team to defeat the Philippines with a score of 3-2 in their debut match in June. Although Mr. Kim believes that both Vietnam and the Philippines are very different from 6 months ago, The Vietnamese team’s goal is still victory.

“The win against the Philippines in June was not easy. But, this win is very important as it helps the players strengthen their confidence and build tactics. Now the preparation is different. 6 months ago, we We only had 1 month to train our troops for the match against the Philippines, but now, we have more time and have more elements together. However, we are still aiming for results Same as June.

Even though the Vietnamese team only won 1-0 against Indonesia, we are still very satisfied and confident about the Philippines’ performance,” Mr. Kim commented.

The difficult victory over the Philippines 6 months ago also gave Mr. Kim Sang-sik and his team lessons to play better in this important rematch.

“In the previous match, I did not have experience playing against the Philippines. We did not have much knowledge, which led to trouble against the opponent. This time, the difference comes from playing on artificial turf. The Philippines is the The team is strong and we really have to fight for tomorrow’s match,” coach Kim Sang-sik concluded.