Tonight's match against Cambodia is the first time the Vietnamese team will take the field as Southeast Asian champions after being crowned champions at the 2024 AFF Cup. Compared to the tournament that ended just 2 months ago, the home team has only made a few changes, but one of them could have a big impact.
Hoang Duc is the hope of the Vietnamese team.
The Vietnamese team cannot use Nguyen Xuan Son - the best player, the top scorer of the AFF Cup 2024 with 7 goals and 2 assists after only the first 4 matches. The striker born in 1997 is still in the recovery stage after suffering a serious injury (broken leg) in the second leg of the final.
This is a big loss for the Vietnamese team, forcing coach Kim Sang-sik to calculate and adjust both personnel and playing style. In terms of personnel, Mr. Kim's choice is not difficult to predict. Nguyen Tien Linh, Pham Tuan Hai, Dinh Thanh Binh are possible names for the spearhead position of the attack. In particular, Tien Linh is in good form when leading the scoring list in V.League 2024-2025.
However, adjusting the playing style is not a simple matter. The Vietnamese team is set to optimize Xuan Son at the AFF Cup 2024. Without this "all-round" striker, coach Kim Sang-sik needs other positions in the squad to improve their attacking ability.
Testing the attacking ability and testing the scoring options are also the goals of the Vietnamese team in this match. Cambodia is the equivalent of Laos - the opponent that Nguyen Quang Hai and his teammates will face in the first match of the upcoming 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
The Vietnamese team needs to take advantage of the opportunity to compete with weaker opponents to earn 3 points and accumulate additional indexes (goal difference - goals conceded). Therefore, attacking as strongly as possible is the top priority.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/truc-tiep-bong-da-viet-nam-vs-campuchia-giao-huu-quoc-te-2025-ar932601.html
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