QUET THANG
The Vietnamese team has been undefeated for 25 years against Singapore in all competitions (6 wins, 8 draws). Having gone through many ups and downs in the Southeast Asian playground, Vietnamese football has never been afraid of Singapore at the team or club level. However, saying that does not mean coach Kim Sang-sik’s team will easily win against Singapore in the match taking place at Jalan Besar in the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2024 first leg.
The Vietnamese team is ready to defeat Singapore
Because in the last 6 times they defeated Singapore, there were 5 matches where the Vietnamese team only won by 1 goal. The only match that Vietnam defeated Singapore with a difference of more than 1 goal was a friendly match in September 2022, when coach Park Hang-seo and his team won by 4 goals without defeat. But three months later, Vietnam let Singapore hold a 0-0 draw at Jalan Besar. In the match, Mr. Park’s students dominated the ball, but created very few scoring opportunities.
During the period when Singapore football was going downhill, the enthusiastic competitive spirit became a lighthouse illuminating the way for coach Tsutomu Ogura and his team to walk. “The Vietnamese team is very strong, but we only focus on our performance. The players are very confident, with ideal health and spirit,” Mr. Ogura shared.

Jalan Besar Stadium
Although they failed to get through the group stage, the Singapore team showed bright spots, which was coach Ogura’s seemingly old-fashioned but very effective deep defense strategy. However, this is not the first time the Vietnamese team has encountered tightly defended opponents. In the group stage, coach Kim Sang-sik broke Indonesia’s defense thanks to a “punch” from the second line named Quang Hai. To win against teams that favor tactics and promote team spirit, Mr. Kim’s students need unexpected attacks.
“KHO RUBIK” MASTER’S KIM
Coach Kim Sang-sik rotated the “Rubik’s cube” in a variety of ways in the group stage, with the lineup constantly changing with each match. The Korean strategist is not afraid to rotate, even in positions that require high stability such as goalkeeper and center back. Thanks to that, the Vietnamese team not only maintains a good physical foundation, but also hides many tactical pieces that Mr. Kim will fully unleash in the semi-finals.
There are still resources that the Vietnamese team has not fully exploited, which are fixed situations, which only brought 1 goal in the group stage. Fixed and direct free kick pieces used to be Vietnam’s goal mine, but now need to be more fully utilized when Mr. Kim has good free kick strikers like Quang Hai, Hoang Duc… and spearhead Xuan Son. Besides, the ability of the defense to support the attack, actually does not appear much when the central defenders only purely defend at home. But, facing an opponent that is likely to defend in large numbers, the Vietnamese midfielders suddenly stepping up to “join the fight” could become a solution worth considering.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Filip is likely to return, alongside the trio of midfielders Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, and Tien Dung. In the midfield, Hoang Duc, Ngoc Tan and Quang Hai light the main kick, while the two flanks may include Van Vi and Tien Anh. In attack, “double-barreled guns” Xuan Son and Tien Linh have the opportunity to play together. This is the optimal force at this time, capable of bringing victory to the Vietnamese team.
“Hopefully we will have good results against Singapore”
Coach Kim Sang-sik confidently said: “We are ready to fight and win. Singapore is a strong team. My colleagues and I have watched them play from live on the field to on television. We I also analyzed and analyzed Singapore through 2 meetings. Coaches and players discussed tactics in competition, including how to apply high-level pressure. Everything is available We will also have an official training session to complete All the steps before entering the competition, I pay attention to Anuar, the player who is leading the scoring list in this AFF Cup. I have analyzed this player quite a lot, from move to position Singapore itself also has other powerful attack plans. I told myself to be careful against Singapore. We hope to have good results against this opponent tomorrow (December 26 – PV).
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