Coach Kim Sang Sik: 'The starting lineup may change'

Coach Kim Sang Sik is determined to help the Vietnam national team overcome Cambodia at home to secure a spot in the semifinals with the top position in Group A, yet he remains open to changing the starting eleven.

"Our goal is to win against Cambodia and advance to the semifinals as the leaders of Group A.

In the previous home match against Singapore, the Vietnam national team failed to score and secure a victory, which left both the team and the fans disappointed.

For the match against Cambodia, we hope the fans will continue to support the Vietnam national team so we can achieve our objective of winning and dedicate this victory to everyone," Coach Kim Sang Sik began his pre-match press conference.

Kim Sang Sik analyzed: "If you look at the FIFA rankings, Vietnam is far ahead of Cambodia, but we always respect every opponent.

It has been quite a while since Thanh Long started in the lineup. Based on his performances, I hold him in high regard.

Anyone watching the match could clearly see that despite his tall physique, Thanh Long still competes well and wins in one-on-one situations. Hoang Duc, in the match against Indonesia, also provided two assists.

The Vietnam national team currently has three good central midfielders. Hoang Duc, Quang Hai, and Thanh Long have all performed well recently.

I am still calculating and considering different combinations to choose the best central midfield pair for the match against Cambodia.

Regarding the lineup, the starting eleven may see changes. However, since the team has ample time to prepare for the semifinal afterward, I still want to field the strongest lineup when hosting Cambodia at My Dinh Stadium.

The coaching staff has also started reviewing match footage from Group B. I notice that all teams have changed their lineups quite a bit compared to two years ago.

As soon as the group stage is over and the opponent is determined, the Vietnam national team will focus fully on the semifinal, no matter who the opponent is.

The media and fans are entitled to their personal opinions. But for me and the Vietnam national team, every match is important and requires the best preparation.

The Vietnam national team will try to play well; this is also preparation for the future. The match against Singapore was not due to the players being overly excited and thus affected mentally, nor because I wore a white shirt.

In the subsequent match against Indonesia, I wore a black shirt, and the players learned from their experience, took advantage of scoring opportunities better, and thus secured the victory.

New players, a fresh breeze like Viet Anh, Thanh Long, and Hai Long, all performed well when they came on, bringing victory to the Vietnam national team."

Midfielder Hai Long shared: "As the head coach mentioned, in the previous match at My Dinh Stadium, the Vietnam national team did not play as well as expected.

This time, playing at home, the whole team is very determined to win. What has happened is in the past; I don't want to revisit the goal celebration incident in the match against Indonesia.

Right now, the entire team is 100% focused on preparing for the match against Cambodia. For me personally, every match is important, and if I get the chance to play, I will give my all to contribute to the national team."