The right squad, the right playing field, the right nature of the national team
According to a statistic published before the 2024 AFF Cup, the Vietnamese team is the team with the second highest average age at the tournament: 26.62 years old. In contrast, Indonesia is the team with the lowest average age in the tournament, 20.42 years old. And the results of the tournament were clear, the too young Indonesian team was eliminated in the group stage, while the Vietnamese team won the championship.
Most of the players of the Vietnamese team that just won the AFF Cup 2024 are in the “golden age”
Looking a little broader, the 3 teams with the highest average age at the AFF Cup, including Singapore (28.19 years old), Vietnam and Thailand (26.15 years old) are the 3 highest ranked teams, competing best at the tournament). In contrast, all three teams with an average age of less than 23 years old, including Indonesia, Laos (22.5 years old) and Timor Leste (22.65 years old), were eliminated very early. For Laos and Timor Leste, their early elimination was predicted since the results of the draw were announced.
For Indonesia, the Football Federation of the Land of Thousand Islands (PSSI) is being heavily criticized for only sending the U.22 team to the 2024 AFF Cup (Indonesia’s list of 24 players participating in the AFF Cup includes only defender Asnawi Mangkualam). over 22 years old). That is not a true national team, and Indonesian football must receive very bad results for sending forces that do not match the nature of a tournament intended for national teams in Southeast Asia.
Even now, the media in Korea is still criticizing PSSI, suspecting PSSI of intentionally using the U.22 force to push coach Shin Tae-yong to failure at the 2024 AFF Cup, then find a reason to fire him. Korean coach. That means Indonesia using too young players to participate in the 2024 AFF Cup is not reasonable in the eyes of international media. At the same time, the defeat at the AFF Cup greatly affected this team’s ranking at FIFA, greatly affecting the image of football in the land of thousands of islands and the reputation of PSSI. But sending a youth team to the AFF Cup and then losing miserably is not a good thing.
With the Vietnamese team, we are actually only older than Indonesia and some teams are too young at this year’s AFF Cup, but the Vietnamese players cannot be called “old”. Even most of the faces of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup are in the “golden age” of football players (about 25 – 31 years old).
Success with the Vietnamese team is an affirmation of coach Kim Sang-sik’s ability
This number includes defenders Do Duy Manh, Pham Xuan Manh, Vu Van Thanh (28 years old, at the time of the 2024 AFF Cup), Nguyen Thanh Chung, Ho Tan Tai (27 years old), Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Nguyen Van Vi (26 years old), Bui Tien Dung (29 years old), midfielders Nguyen Hoang Duc (26 years old), Nguyen Quang Hai (27 years old), Chau Ngoc Quang (28 years old), Doan Ngoc Tan (30 years old), striker Pham Tuan Hai, Dinh Thanh Binh (26 years old), Nguyen Xuan Son, Nguyen Tien Linh (27 years old), Nguyen Van Toan (28 years old).
The golden age of a football player’s life is the age that is both energetic and experienced, not too immature for Indonesian players, and not at all quickly losing physical strength, the proof is that we are one of the most resilient teams. AFF Cup. In addition, the Vietnamese team still has a legacy for the next major international tournaments, but this squad will not only compete in the 2024 AFF Cup and be forced to make a series of blood changes.
Regarding this issue, former VFF Professional Vice President Duong Vu Lam commented: “Coach Kim Sang-sik clearly has a sense of building a long-term force. The Vietnamese team’s squad is not Too young, but not too old. Players showing signs of age and difficulty meeting high intensity like Que Ngoc Hai and Do Hung Dung were dropped by coach Kim Sang-sik because they were no longer suitable , Mr. Kim Sang-sik Adding young and new faces (Vi Hao, Hai Long, Khuat Van Khang, goalkeeper Trung Kien), rich in desire to contribute, to increase the team’s resilience.
The way is to build a force not only for the 2024 AFF Cup, but also towards the 2027 Asian Cup (both qualifying rounds and finals) and the 2030 World Cup qualifying round. Most of the players in the squad for the 2024 AFF Cup are can compete until the end of the 2030 World Cup qualifying campaign. The way to build the Vietnamese team’s force is currently similar to Thailand, the football scene is temporarily called professional and organized. Southeast Asia”.
