Thailand is a big mountain, but there is no mountain that cannot be overcome
In the last 7 matches against Thailand, the Vietnamese team drew and lost. Most recently, in September 2024, Mr. Kim’s students lost 1-2 to Thailand at My Dinh Stadium. However, coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed that failures are a thing of the past. “We are only focused on the present. The players are putting all their effort into this confrontation. I told the players that one is the champion, two is the champion and three is the champion. The Vietnamese team will dedicated to the final match,” Mr. Kim shared with the press.
Coach Kim Sang-sik (left) Together with his student Xuan Manh, he is determined to win with the Vietnamese team in the “pan of fire” of Viet Tri
The Korean strategist respected his opponent when calling Thailand a “big mountain”, but he said: “There is no mountain that cannot be overcome.” Coach Kim Sang-sik’s confidence comes from the impressive performance of the Vietnamese team with 6 unbeaten matches (5 wins, 1 draw), along with the superior physical advantage over Thailand, which is tired after the semi-finals. The return leg with the Philippines lasts up to 120 minutes.
“The players will fight as a cohesive unit to win for the fans in the first days of the new year 2025. I know Thailand just had a long and tiring match against the Philippines. After that, they fought again. must move to Vietnam. Thai players are affected mentally and physically, this gives Vietnam confidence and good spirit. We will try our best to play strongly,” coach Kim Sang-sik said.
Mr. Kim is also confident before competing with coach Masatada Ishii of Thailand. After defeating a Japanese strategist (Singapore’s Tsutomu Ogura), Mr. Kim is ready to defeat another coach from the land of the rising sun. “The coach of the Thai team is Japanese, and I am Korean, so this is the “East Asian derby” of the two coaches. Hopefully my students and I will play well to win another team coached by the coach. Japanese”.
Meanwhile, Thailand coach Masatada Ishii affirmed that the Vietnamese team is “very strong” and: “They have improved and changed their squad to be different from September 2024.”
Thailand’s disadvantage in the final is its dense travel and training schedule. “Not only Suphanat Muenta has problems, but also some players are injured. I will coordinate with the coaching staff to bring the best physical condition to the players,” Mr. Ishii said.
However, Thailand’s goal does not change, which is victory. “I want Thailand to win all 8 matches in the AFF Cup 2024, but the team has already lost to the Philippines. So I told the players that they must win against Vietnam in the final. The Thai team is determined to win this match.”
