Coach Kim Sang Sik still has much to address with the Vietnam national football team if he hopes to achieve success in the upcoming AFF Cup 2024.

1. The team’s inability to defeat India at Thien Truong Stadium extends Vietnam’s official winless streak to four matches. While this is not an alarming number, fans have reason to be concerned about the team’s inconsistent performances and lack of motivation under Coach Kim.

More worrisome is the fact that after a victory against the Philippines in the first leg of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam suffered seven consecutive defeats before finally securing another win against the same opponent. Since his debut, Coach Kim has struggled to spark any meaningful improvement, with the team either losing or drawing.

2. To be fair, Coach Kim Sang Sik could argue that the recent lack of victories is due to ongoing experiments and squad evaluations as part of preparations for the AFF Cup 2024. However, such reasoning would only be acceptable if these trials were leading to visible changes or improvements in gameplay, but that has not been the case.

The team continues to show instability from defense to attack, and improvement has only been evident when Van Quyet, a key player, is on the field. Unfortunately, with his recent retirement announcement, the team is left searching for new leadership on the pitch.

There are growing concerns about the performance of several players, from established stars like Hoang Duc and Quang Hai to newcomers such as Dinh Bac, Chau Ngoc Quang, and Thanh Long.

3. With less than two months until the AFF Cup 2024 kicks off, the current state of the Vietnam national team is cause for concern. It’s not just the team’s own struggles under Coach Kim Sang Sik, but also the significant progress made by their rivals, which could pose a real threat.

Aside from Indonesia, even the Philippines - who Vietnam defeated twice in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers - are showing considerable improvement. The Philippines recently claimed a victory over Tajikistan in the third-place match at the King’s Cup in Thailand, signaling their growing strength.

Despite having worked with the team for over half a year, Coach Kim Sang Sik has yet to find solutions for Vietnam’s challenges. With the limited time remaining before the AFF Cup 2024, it seems unlikely that the South Korean tactician will be able to turn things around.

Coach Kim’s team is not only underperforming but also faces stiff competition from opponents that are evolving rapidly. Without finding a solution soon, Vietnam’s path to the semifinals or finals of the AFF Cup will be significantly more difficult than anticipated.

Duy Nguyen