Vietnam team meets Russia and Thailand: The main 'test' for coach Kim Sang Sik

The Korean coach will have the opportunity to prove his coaching ability as well as his diverse playing style when facing the Russian and Thai teams. It has been a long time since the Vietnamese team has been able to win against the Thai team in official tournaments. The match with Thailand helps both teams warm up and test each other before the ASEAN Cup. Meanwhile, the match with the team ranked 33rd on the FIFA rankings like Russia is a valuable opportunity to break many things. Obviously, playing against a strong team always helps us hone, accumulate and add more valuable assets, even if it may be a loss, even a heavy loss.

There will be a lot of pressure on coach Kim Sang Sik. After all, he has just started working with Vietnamese football. Up to now, he has only had 2 matches leading the Vietnamese team. If looking at the playing style of the Vietnamese team in the last 2 matches in the World Cup qualifiers, there has not been much change. Moreover, in the context of being eliminated early, it is difficult to ask the Vietnamese players to play "at their best" in those 2 matches.

However, this is understandable, because in the first days of coaching, coach Kim Sang Sik also had to give himself a safe solution to have a smooth start. Under the leadership of coach Kim Sang Sik, the Vietnamese team still mainly plays proactive defense and waits for the opportunity to change state. The positive point is that the change of state has been done faster and more lightning-fast. The Vietnamese players still actively take control of the game, but they have not seen any imposing play.

The current Vietnam team still has all the familiar players from the past. But the difficulty for coach Kim Sang Sik is how to awaken the form and winning instinct of each player. On the contrary, the young factors in the Vietnam team have not shown the necessary maturity to fill in or "share the fire" for the seniors.

With what was seen from the two matches against the Philippines and Iraq in the World Cup qualifiers, it can be understood that Mr. Kim Sang Sik wants to renew both the players and the way of playing.

The Korean coach's renewal is step by step, with a roadmap and certainty, not a massive "blood change" like Mr. Trousier. However, coach Kim Sang Sik seems to lack the necessary "materials" to renew according to his wishes. There, as mentioned, the old players have lost their form and the young players have not yet "ripe". Therefore, the list of the Vietnamese team this time also stops with mostly familiar names.

Vietnamese football is in a transitional phase, and fans' confidence is also shaken after recent "failures". That said, it is clear that when taking over the position of head coach of the Vietnamese team, Mr. Kim Sang Sik's task will not be easy. Fans are looking forward to the new look of the Vietnamese team before entering the ASEAN Cup campaign at the end of the year.

More than ever, coach Kim Sang Sik himself feels the pressure on himself. He is the one who understands the position and expectations of fans for the Vietnamese team.

Pressure is inevitable for any coach when choosing to sit in the "hot seat", but creating motivation from difficulties will bring great joy to fans as well as affirm the position for the coach himself.

In the immediate future, coach Kim Sang Sik needs to revive the spirit of a Vietnamese team that has somewhat declined after a long period of playing with low performance and unsatisfactory results.

Activating and awakening the winning instinct of players is very necessary in the current context. It is important that the Vietnamese team plays with style, showing confidence, poise, and not being shy like the way we have "positioned" that impressive image before./.