Coach Kim Sang-sik: 'If well prepared, the Vietnamese team will win the AFF Cup 2024'

On the afternoon of May 21, the draw ceremony for the 2024 Southeast Asian Football Championship (ASEAN Cup) took place. According to the draw results, the Vietnam team is in Group B with Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos.

Talking about the rematch between the Vietnamese team and Indonesia, coach Kim Sang-sik shared: "Psychologically, many people really want the Vietnamese team to be in a different group than Indonesia. But for me, the two groups are actually the same. Whether we are in the same group as Indonesia or not, the most important thing is to reach the semi-finals.

The Southeast Asian Football Championship is always attractive. Obviously, people always think that Southeast Asian football is a low-lying region, but without the low-lying region, it is impossible to advance to the continental level. The attractiveness of the ASEAN Championship is obvious. With the draw results, the Vietnam team will play at home against Indonesia, that is an advantage. The Vietnam team aims to go as far as possible, but must go step by step. First, reach the semi-finals, then strive to reach the final."

Besides, coach Kim Sang-sik also assessed the opponents in Group B: "After the draw, I feel like the tournament has already started. Meeting Indonesia is a good match. If we prepare as best as possible, the Vietnam team will have good results. We also met the Philippines in June, they have many naturalized players, I don't know if these players can play, but if we prepare well, the Vietnam team will have good results."

Regarding the goal of the tournament, the Korean captain confidently shared: "Winning the championship is always my goal in every tournament. I know that there are many strong opponents and it is not easy to defeat any team. However, if there is good preparation, the Vietnamese team can win the championship."

The AFF Cup 2024 will take place from November 23 to December 21. The 10 teams participating in the group stage will be divided into 2 groups, each group has 5 teams. The teams will compete in a round-robin format in the group stage (each team plays 2 home matches and 2 away matches), scoring points and ranking. The top 2 teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals. From the semi-finals, the matches will take place in a knockout format after 2 home and away matches, at home and away./.