Vietnam successfully defended their ASEAN Cup crown, but in terms of efficiency, the team fell short of its performance two years ago - despite coach Kim Sang Sik having a stronger squad at his disposal.

Behind the 21-goal tally

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Vietnam were rarely at their explosive best at the ASEAN Cup 2026 despite having a stronger squad than two years ago.

Vietnam’s journey to the ASEAN Cup 2026 title featured surprisingly few stretches of truly dominant football. Apart from a stunning 3-0 victory away to Indonesia and an assured 2-0 performance against Malaysia in the second leg of the semifinals, much of the team’s campaign left questions unanswered.

Kim Sang Sik’s side were held to a draw by Singapore, struggled to break down Cambodia for long periods and were forced to dig deep in two tense final matches against Thailand.

The biggest weakness in Kim Sang Sik’s tactical system was Vietnam’s inability to put games to bed. Although they enjoyed more possession at times, the Vietnamese side often looked short of ideas when opponents dropped deep and defended in numbers.

Given the strength of the squad and the extensive preparations behind it, the failure to produce a clear improvement either in style or effectiveness must count as Kim Sang Sik’s first major setback.

The efficiency question

Vietnam entered the ASEAN Cup 2026 with a squad widely regarded as significantly stronger, bolstered by the addition of quality naturalized players such as Hoang Hen and Tai Loc.

With such an impressive array of talent at his disposal, Kim Sang Sik was expected to build a more varied and dominant attacking unit. The statistics, however, paint a different picture when it comes to efficiency.

Vietnam also scored 21 goals at the ASEAN Cup 2024, but needed only 132 attempts, including 49 on target, to reach that total. That translated into a conversion rate of 15.9% from all attempts and 42.86% from shots on target.

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The quality of Vietnam’s attacking personnel has improved, but declining efficiency remains a concern for coach Kim Sang Sik.

At the tournament that has just ended, Dinh Bac, Xuan Son and their teammates needed 138 attempts, with 45 on target, to score the same 21 goals. Their overall conversion rate slipped to 15.2%, although the rate from shots on target rose to 46.67%.

More tellingly, five of Vietnam’s 21 goals at the ASEAN Cup 2026 came from opposition own goals. Vietnamese players themselves scored only 16. The team therefore needed an average of 8.625 attempts for every goal scored directly by one of its players, bringing the true conversion rate down to 11.59%.

For an attack rated so highly, scoring only twice across the final raises further questions. Highly regarded forward Tai Loc failed to find the net throughout the tournament, while Dinh Bac stopped scoring once the knockout stage began. Some of the responsibility for those struggles inevitably falls on Kim Sang Sik.

Winning the ASEAN Cup 2026 delivered another trophy, but Kim Sang Sik has yet to surpass the standards set by his own previous team. Having a stronger squad yet operating less efficiently - while relying more heavily on opponents’ mistakes - presents the South Korean coach with a significant problem to solve before Vietnam embark on bigger campaigns ahead.

Duy Nguyen