Vietnam team won hard: Coach Kim Sang-sik was subjective or calculated?

Coach Kim Sang-sik’s ‘team 2’ is not good enough

Using a secondary squad against the weakest opponent in the group is an understandable plan by coach Kim Sang-sik. The Korean coach admitted that the Vietnamese team has thought about the match against Indonesia and is planning to adapt to the opponent’s playing style. However, that does not mean that the Vietnamese team can “slip off” and lack focus against Laos like in last night’s match (9.12).

Notice the moment right before Hai Long went down to score the opening goal. While the ball was still flying on the field, 3 players were preparing to enter the field as substitutes. And one of the three people who was about to be replaced at that time was… Hai Long. The goal scored by a player born in 2000 was probably beyond Mr. Kim’s calculations.

It was the 58th minute, but coach Kim Sang-sik decided to replace 3 players, plus Van Vi who entered the field at the beginning of the second half, making 4.

Nearly half of the squad was withdrawn, which was also an implicit message from Mr. Kim: the original plan had failed. The coaching staff’s choice to intertwine a number of pillars with reserve elements has created a “misfit” and disorganized team in situations of coordinating attacks and creating pressure.

During the first half, the Vietnamese team finished 11 times, but there were only 2 highlight situations. It was Tien Anh’s cross for Vi Hao to head in, and Van Khang’s cross for Hai Long to put the ball over the bar.

The Vietnamese team could only control the match when “team 1”, with Quang Hai, Van Toan and Tuan Hai, entered the field. When the best factors are present, coach Kim Sang-sik’s students can get used to the rhythm of play and put enough pressure on them to score goals. As for the reserve elements, the Vietnamese team cannot dominate even though the opponent is Laos.

That raises a problem: the reserve team of the Vietnamese team is not good enough and there is clearly a gap with the main team. The players ran hot, trying to sweep and compete with a burning desire to show off.

However, in football, just running is not enough. The reserve force of the Vietnamese team lacks sophistication and experience, like the way Quang Hai mischievously poked the ball for Van Toan to escape and score. The lack of depth in the squad is a problem Mr. Kim needs to overcome. Because it’s a long journey, you can’t just stick to one frame, with a single style of play.

What does Mr. Kim think?

Coach Kim Sang-sik was not subjective when using the reserve team in the match against Laos. It should be reiterated that the short competition format of the AFF Cup forces coaches to carefully consider people and playing style. When the gap between the match against the weakest opponent and the strongest opponent in the group is only 4 days, is it possible to put the strongest squad on the field and play with all our strength against Laos?

To pass the group stage, the Vietnamese team needs a strategy. You can’t play anywhere but count on it.

However, it seems that the Korean coach did not calculate the player’s ability correctly. With Hai Long, Ngoc Tan and Hoang Duc, the Vietnamese team was… handicapped throughout the first half, with less than impressive ability to control play. For goalkeeper Dinh Trieu, the confusing cross pass at the end of the match that caused the Vietnamese team to concede a silly goal could put an end to this goalkeeper’s (already very small) hopes of competing for a position.

Or for Duy Manh, the dangerous tackle with the bottom of his shoe on the Lao player is a detail that coach Kim Sang-sik will pay close attention to and advise his students in the coming days.

The worrying thing for Mr. Kim is that after 6 months of training, the Vietnamese team is still struggling to figure out how to play. However, what Mr. Kim needs right now is victory, not beautiful football. Must tighten the squad to win against Indonesia in the next match. If he gets all 3 points at Viet Tri Stadium on December 15, Mr. Kim’s plans will be complete.