Kim Sang-sik laughed, but Shin Tae-yong left unfortunately.
Vietnam, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, reached the semifinals of the 2024 AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) Mitsubishi Electric Cup (hereinafter referred to as the Mitsubishi Cup). Vietnam beat Myanmar 5-0 in the final Group B match of the tournament at Puto Stadium in Puto Vietchi on the 21st (Korea time). With the victory, Vietnam ranked first in Group B with three wins and one draw and 10 points, reaching the semifinals.
The Mitsubishi Cup is the region's most prestigious soccer tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). In the Mitsubishi Cup, a total of 10 teams will be divided into two groups to play the group stage, and then the second place in each group will advance to the semifinals and determine the winning team through the semifinals and finals. In 2018, coach Park Hang-seo led Vietnam to the championship, making it a familiar competition for domestic fans. It was called the Suzuki Cup at the time.
Vietnam finished the first half without a goal. However, Bui Bihao's first goal was scored three minutes into the second half, and Nguyen Xuansson scored an additional goal in the 11th minute of the second half. Nguyen Quang Hai's left-footed shot in the 29th minute of the second half led to a five-goal victory, with Nguyen Xuansson scoring in the 45th minute of the second half and Nguyen Thien Lin scoring just before the end of the game.
AFP Yonhap News
AFP Yonhap News
Vietnam is aiming to win this tournament. Since winning in 2018, he has reached the semifinals in both tournaments, but has not won another championship. In particular, in the 2022 tournament, when head coach Park Hang-seo last led Vietnam, he reached the final and met with rival Thailand, but only one draw and one loss to stay in second place.
Vietnam, which suffered a failure after the appointment of Philippe Truscier, has shifted to Kim Sang-sik's system and is aiming for the championship with the best power in this tournament. In fact, director Kim Sang-sik's pressure on this was considerable. First, he achieved his first goal by reaching the semifinals as the top of the group with an unbeaten record in four group games.
Vietnam's opponent in the semifinals is Singapore, ranked second in Group A. Singapore, led by Japanese coach Tsutomu Ogura, had 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in Group A, which includes Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and East Timor. He captured underdogs Cambodia and East Timor, but failed to win against Thailand and Malaysia, which are on par with Vietnam. This is why Vietnam's superiority is more expected.
ReutersYonhap News
He failed to advance to the semifinals in Indonesia led by head coach Shin Tae-yong. Indonesia lost 0-1 in the final Group B match against the Philippines at Manahan Stadium in Surakarta (Solo) on the 21st. On the other hand, Indonesia failed to advance to the semifinals as third place in the group, falling behind the Philippines (six points).
Coach Shin formed a team centered on players under the age of 22 in this tournament. Under conditions where it is not possible to convene naturalized players playing overseas, the focus was on finding resources to utilize and accumulating experience in preparation for the final qualifying round of the World Cup by using young players.
