Vietnam Team: What can we see from Coach Kim Sang Sik's decision?

The list of Vietnam's national team that coach Kim Sang Sik released made fans excited, but there are still concerns about whether the change will actually take place or not.

A welcome decision

The latest list of the Vietnamese team for the two matches against Nepal has brought many positive signals when coach Kim Sang Sik boldly called up a series of young faces from the U23 Vietnam team to test themselves at the national team level.

Names like Hieu Minh, Nhat Minh, Xuan Bac... who have only become prominent in recent months in the U23 Southeast Asian tournaments and the U23 Asian qualifiers, now have the opportunity to stand in the same ranks as their seniors on the Vietnamese national team.

Many young U23 Vietnam stars appear in the Vietnam national team jersey

This is a welcome decision from Mr. Kim Sang Sik. Instead of being certain with the old framework, the Korean strategist has given the next generation a chance to try their hand.

In addition to rewarding their impressive performance in the U23 team, this move is also a necessary choice to create a new breeze for the Vietnam team – which is in need of many new solutions after the ASEAN Cup.

Along with Van Khang, Dinh Bac… are gradually becoming familiar factors, connecting two generations, a young and deep Vietnamese team, will create a good foundation towards the 2027 Asian Cup and further tournaments.

But also have concerns

The joy and expectations are real, but there are still concerns if we look at the way coach Kim Sang Sik used people in the not-so-distant past.

In the three official matches of the Vietnam team after winning the ASEAN 2024 championship, although the list of players included many young names, the number of minutes they played on the field was extremely limited.

Hopefully, coach Kim Sang Sik will give everyone a chance in the next training session and match.

In the decisive match with Malaysia, it is completely understandable that coach Kim Sang Sik must be cautious and trust in experienced players.

But even in much easier matches like the match against Laos or the friendly against Cambodia, the rookies still mostly sat on the bench. The opportunity for them to show themselves was almost zero. This created a worrying precedent of calling up young players just to "get used to the atmosphere", instead of really giving them the opportunity to compete.

Therefore, fans have the right to ask: Will this time, when facing Nepal - an opponent considered to be of equal strength - will the young players really be given the opportunity to play, or will they all continue to be "apprentices" on the bench?

Therefore, the next two matches against Nepal will be an important measure of coach Kim Sang Sik's courage and determination. Because only when he dares to put his trust in the young players in the official matches, the generational transition process - which Vietnamese football desperately needs at this time - can truly begin.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-thay-gi-tu-quyet-dinh-cua-hlv-kim-sang-sik-2448164.html