What can be seen from the less-than-perfect victory of the Vietnam national team?

13/10/2025 09:03:00 VictoryVox

At Gò Đậu stadium, the Vietnam national team did not fully satisfy the Southern fans. A win against an opponent ranked dozens of places below like Nepal was expected, but the supporters wanted more than that.

1. The Vietnam team accomplished the goal of earning full 3 points against Nepal. However, this victory could not conceal the inherent shortcomings of the Vietnam team over many years. The performance on the evening of October 9 revealed that Coach Kim Sang Sik still has much to do to improve the team’s cohesion and maximize his players’ potential.

Vietnam’s determination to win was clearly shown in the starting lineup. Goalkeeper Đặng Văn Lâm returned to guard the goal, right in front were Duy Mạnh, Xuân Mạnh, and Tiến Dũng. The wings were Tiến Anh and Quang Vinh. Meanwhile, Hoàng Đức played centrally, alongside Thành Long, Hai Long, Tiến Linh, and Tuấn Hải leading the attack.

With a starting lineup composed entirely of veterans, it was not hard for Tiến Linh to score and gift the fans at Gò Đậu, where the main striker’s career started, developed, and blossomed. It was expected that the early goal would lead to a resounding victory, but that was not the case.

Throughout the match, Vietnam almost faced no pressure but conceded from a set-piece situation. On the first set-piece, the experienced defense including Đỗ Duy Mạnh, Văn Lâm, and Bùi Tiến Dũng allowed Sannish Shrestha to sneak in and head the ball past Đặng Văn Lâm. Most of the fault belonged to captain Duy Mạnh, but clearly, the Vietnamese defense lacked focus and even appeared careless given Nepal’s small number of aerial challengers.

Shrestha’s headed goal revealed the lack of concentration in Vietnam’s defense. It is unclear whether the defensive players showed carelessness, complacency, or if the veterans are no longer at their peak. Calmness, good coordination, quick anticipation, and strong jumping ability are qualities the defense must quickly recover in the upcoming matches.

U23 players like Đình Bắc might be used more in the second leg against Nepal. Photo: Tuấn Phạm

2. While the defense was still vulnerable, the attack also did not perform as expected. Nepal played with only 10 men throughout the second half, yet Vietnam’s forwards were still quite ineffective in scoring.

In a match where Vietnam controlled the ball for 75% of the time and spent two-thirds of the game in the opponent’s half, scoring only 3 goals is too few. Defenders Phạm Xuân Mạnh and Nguyễn Văn Vĩ scored. This might be an option when the forwards are blocked, but it cannot be expected that such cases will happen frequently and consistently.

As mentioned, even though Vietnam actively played attacking football, their finishing was still limited, so the results were not as expected. Indeed, in the match against Nepal, when the opponent played a "concrete wall" style, it was clearly very difficult for us to play. Even when Nepal’s defense became tired and disorganized, Coach Kim Sang Sik’s players were not sharp enough to seize the chances.

It is unknown whether Coach Kim Sang Sik has any plans or "secret weapons" to unveil in the second leg. This is said because in the match against Nepal, Vietnam’s strength in wing attacks was hardly focused on. Even when Nguyễn Văn Vĩ replaced Bùi Tiến Dũng, the wings didn’t perform as strongly as usual. The attempts to bring young players into the match were limited, only with Thanh Nhàn, Gia Hưng, and Đình Bắc, and the freshness they brought was only moderate.

Not convincing — that is the impression of Vietnam’s 3-1 victory over Nepal. Coach Kim Sang Sik’s team still has the return match at Thống Nhất stadium to achieve a beautiful, emphatic victory that delivers "spectacular" goals to the fans.

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