Highlights of coach Kim Sang-sik's first win
The explosion in the second half helped the Vietnamese team to a dramatic victory over the Philippines team. With this victory, coach Kim Sang-sik had a great debut.
Ending a streak of 7 consecutive losses
This is the debut match of the new head coach of the Vietnam National Team. Therefore, all the home fans expect the changes of the team under coach Kim Sang-sik.
That expectation was a bit disappointing when the Vietnamese team did not play very sharp in the first half. Even if the strikers of the Philippine team were sharper, goalkeeper Dang Van Lam would have received no less than 2 goals.
However, everything changed dramatically in the second half. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team performed beautifully to bring excitement to the stands.
Although the Philippines took the lead in the 62nd minute, goals from Nguyen Tien Linh and Pham Tuan Hai helped the Vietnamese team win a dramatic 3-2 victory.
With this victory, the Vietnam team broke a streak of 7 consecutive losses and maintained hope of entering the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. And with this victory, coach Kim Sang-sik had a successful debut.
Hopefully, coach Kim Sang-sik's team will continue to have excellent performances in the upcoming matches.
Changes in playing style under coach Kim Sang-sik
The Vietnam team under coach Kim Sang-sik has made clear changes. That is, playing with a 4-defender formation instead of 3 defenders like in recent years. With this formation, the Vietnam team can flexibly switch from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1.
However, this tactic could not be effective in the first half. On the contrary, Khuat Van Khang's left wing was often exploited by Philippine players to create many dangerous situations towards goalkeeper Dang Van Lam's goal.
It was not until the second half that the 4-defender formation came into play. The mobility of Phan Tuan Tai and Nguyen Van Toan helped the Vietnamese team have many dangerous attacking situations. And it was this duo who had excellent passes for Tien Linh to score.
It can be said that coach Kim Sang-sik has initially brought freshness to the playing style of the Vietnam Team after a series of disappointing days.
Great Nguyen Tien Linh
Recently, striker Nguyen Tien Linh has gradually regained his form in the Becamex Binh Duong Club shirt. Therefore, fans expect the striker born in 1997 to have excellent performances in this training session of the Vietnam National Team.
After not playing very well in the first half, Nguyen Tien Linh exploded in the second half with a double to help the Vietnamese team take the lead. These two goals demonstrated the excellent positioning and finishing ability of the striker currently playing for Becamex Binh Duong Club. If he had been more decisive, Nguyen Tien Linh could have had a hat-trick for himself in this match.
However, 2 goals were enough to mark the return of Vietnam's top striker after a period of declining form and with that excellent performance, Nguyen Tien Linh was voted the best player of the match.
Surprise Phan Tuan Tai
In recent matches of the Vietnam National Team, Phan Tuan Tai often plays in the left center-back position. And this player also often makes fatal mistakes that cause the home team to receive unfortunate goals.
However, the impressive performance in the second half of this match showed the correctness of coach Kim Sang-sik when bringing Phan Tuan Tai back to his favorite left-back position. The attacks and defenses, the accurate crosses of this defender born in 2001 contributed to the Vietnam team's 3-2 victory over the Philippines team.
A hard-fought but sweet victory has quenched the thirst for victory of the Vietnam Team. This victory will help the Golden Star Warriors to be more confident in the upcoming matches. And hopefully, it will also open a new and beautiful chapter for the Vietnam Team under coach Kim Sang-sik./.