Vietnam U19 revives the signature tactic of Coach Kim Sang Sik against Indonesia

In the Vietnam U19 vs. Indonesia U19 match at the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship, the coaching staff of the red-clad side caused a stir by reusing a "special move" that Coach Kim Sang Sik had employed to counter the formidable throw-in threat from their rivals.

In the decisive match for the top spot in Group A, Indonesia U19 continued to exploit powerful throw-in situationsas a dangerous attacking option. This has been a familiar weapon for Indonesian teams for many years, from youth levels to the national squad.

Fully aware of this, the Vietnam U19 coaching staff made thorough preparations. Throughout the match, several water bottles were placed along the sideline near the away team's technical area. Moreover, coaching staff members frequently stood close to this zone, making it harder for Indonesian players to gain momentum for long throw-ins.

This detail quickly reminded fans of the 2025 ASEAN U23 Championship final between Vietnam U23 and Indonesia U23. At that time, Coach Kim Sang Sik’s team used a similar approach to limit the extremely powerful throw-ins of defender Robi Darwis.

In the final minutes of the match at Bung Karno Stadium, when Indonesia U23 was pushing hard for an equalizer, a series of water bottles were placed along the sideline in front of Vietnam U23's technical area. The purpose was clear: to prevent the home players from having enough space to run up for long throw-ins into the box.

That simple yet effective tactic once received much praise from regional media. Many experts considered it a clever way to neutralize one of Indonesia’s most dangerous attacking methods without violating the rules.

At the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship, similar scenes appeared once again. This shows that Vietnam U19's coaching staff studied the opponent thoroughly and was ready to apply pragmatic approaches to reduce pressure from the host team.

Although the final result was not as desired, with Vietnam U19 losing 1-2 to Indonesia U19, the tactical details off the pitch still became a topic of great interest among fans and experts alike.

The revival of the "special trick" associated with Coach Kim Sang Sik shows that Vietnam’s youth teams are increasingly focused on opponent analysis, making use of every possible factor to gain an advantage in crucial matches. This also serves as evidence of the meticulous preparation by Vietnam U19’s coaching staff against a rival that always possesses many unpredictable attacking options like Indonesia.