Coach Kim Sang Sik shared his thoughts on the Vietnamese national team 's squad ahead of the third-place match against Malaysia at the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 : "The team is missing several players such as Hoang Hen, Tai Loc, and Bui Hoang Viet Anh due to muscle injuries. With a limited number of players available, making substitutions in the second half will be somewhat difficult. However, the more challenging the situation, the more united the team must be to achieve victory in tomorrow's match."
Regarding Viet Anh's potential recovery from injury, coach Kim Sang Sik said: "Bui Hoang Viet Anh's injury is not too serious. The coaching staff and medical team will check his condition, adjust his physical condition, and continue to monitor the situation before making a decision. It is expected that Viet Anh's participation in tomorrow's match will not be significantly affected."
Meanwhile, regarding the two players Tai Loc and Hoang Hen, the Korean coach said: "Due to the continuous schedule from previous tournaments, the national championship, to the training camp for the FIFA ASEAN Cup, the players have to work hard at a high intensity, causing minor injuries to gradually accumulate and become serious."
In Tài Lộc's case, he suffered a minor injury before the tournament, so he couldn't play much for his club. The short training camp period meant that his physical recovery was somewhat problematic when he returned to the field. As for Hoàng Hên, due to playing too many matches for his club recently, he couldn't perform at 100% when he joined the national team training camp."
"Not being able to qualify for the final is quite regrettable and disappointing for me, the players, and Vietnamese fans. However, it must be acknowledged that the players gave their all and strived to win every match. Even though it was only the third-place match, the whole team accepted the reality and tried their best to achieve the best possible result, creating a positive image for the fans," emphasized Coach Kim Sang Sik.
Regarding the match against Malaysia, the head coach of the Vietnamese national team stated: "Compared to previous encounters, Malaysia's squad has changed and become much stronger. In particular, they have a newly naturalized player wearing the number 9 jersey who is showing excellent form. Therefore, the Vietnamese team must prepare very carefully to find a way to neutralize this player and aim for a favorable result."
The Vietnam vs Malaysia match will take place at 4 PM on October 5th at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (Jakarta, Indonesia).
Watch the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 live and in its entirety on FPT Play, at http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-canh-bao-tuyen-viet-nam-truc-tran-dau-malaysia-2561622.html
