Sweet rain of goals from Vietnam team

A resounding 5-0 victory over Laos (on the evening of March 25) helped the Vietnamese team get off to a perfect start in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Vietnam team and LIGHT TRAINING

Facing the Laos team with a young and inexperienced squad, coach Kim Sang-sik was still very cautious when bringing the strongest force to the opening match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. 9 out of 11 starting players played key roles in the journey to win the 2024 AFF Cup, while the only rookie (Minh Khoa) is in explosive form. Mr. Kim wants to pour in a "rain" of goals to create a springboard for the fierce competition with Malaysia in the next 6 qualifying matches.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has a cool hand

Van Vi (3) contributed to helping the Vietnamese team win big against Laos

Photo: NGOC LINH

Coach Kim Sang-sik also learned from the previous match against Laos. Facing a team that played deep and aggressive defense, the Vietnamese team obviously had the upper hand in possession. However, the number of sideways and back passes decreased, giving way to a powerful, direct style of play on the Binh Duong field on the evening of March 25. Up front, Tien Linh played center forward, but instead of being pushed to the ball, the 28-year-old striker played the role of "decoy", moving to attract people and open up space for his teammates. The Vietnamese team put strong pressure on the wing thanks to two runners Van Vi and Tien Anh to disrupt the Lao defense. When space opened up, good midfielders like Hai Long, Minh Khoa and Ngoc Quang entered the penalty area to find opportunities.

Minh Khoa (9) is a new solution for the midfield of the Vietnam national team.

The sudden attacks on the penalty area by the Vietnamese midfielders caused the Lao defense to collapse. In the 11th minute, Tien Anh accelerated and crossed the ball inside. The Lao defenders could not stop him and watched helplessly as Ngoc Quang finished close to the goal to open the score. At the end of the first half (minute 44), Hai Long received the ball well after the opponent's block and shot against the crossbar before Van Vi headed the ball in to double the gap.

The common point of both situations is that the Vietnamese players effectively predicted the drop point in the second ball contest situations, and at the same time knew how to take advantage of the gaps in the opponent's defense. This is a fundamental difference compared to the Vietnamese team in the match against Laos 3 months ago, when before that, coach Kim Sang-sik's students had a lot of possession of the ball but lacked the strikers to create opportunities.

IMPRESSION

When the Vietnamese team had the advantage of taking an early lead, and playing at a level that was superior to the young Laos team, what happened in the second half was not beyond expectations. Coach Kim's students completely dominated, easily scoring 3 more goals thanks to Van Vi, Hai Long and Quang Hai. There was not much to say when the difference between the two sides was too big.

Different from the AFF Cup 2024, coach Kim Sang-sik has another extremely talented scorer named Van Vi with a double, along with explosive energy from Minh Khoa in midfield.

Binh Duong Stadium becomes a fire pan

In his first appearance for the Vietnamese national team, Minh Khoa integrated well. He covered the field and pressed well to support the defense, and together with Hoang Duc controlled the rhythm of the game. At the same time, Minh Khoa also handled the game neatly, helping coach Kim's team switch from defense to attack at a very high speed. The player born in 2001 brought new vitality to the midfield. To upgrade the Vietnamese national team, coach Kim Sang-sik needs more sharp discoveries like that.

The resounding victory over Laos not only helped the Vietnamese team start the new cycle with coach Kim Sang-sik in a complete way, but also brought a mental release. The heavy legs in the match with Cambodia, now played more confidently and smoothly, dominating the match from start to finish. The attacking solutions were also more diverse, as Mr. Kim had many diverse tactics, promoting the abilities of many positions such as central midfielder, attacking midfielder or fullback.

After nearly a year of training, coach Kim Sang-sik has shown that he is ready to change to adapt. Despite the ups and downs, the Vietnamese team will strive to adapt and integrate with the times. That is the spirit that Mr. Kim's students need to bring with them to overcome difficulties. The upcoming match is a very difficult away match at Bukit Jalil Stadium in Malaysia next June.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/con-mua-ban-thang-ngot-ngao-cua-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-185250325230056214.htm