AFC praises coach Kim Sang-sik's tactical prowess

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) website stated that coach Kim Sang-sik's substitution decisions helped Vietnam defeat Kyrgyzstan in the U23 Asian Cup 2026 group stage.

The AFC noted that Vietnam had a hesitant start against Kyrgyzstan but gradually asserted their playstyle, opening the scoring through Khuat Van Khang in the 19th minute. This goal led to an end-to-end game, with both teams squandering opportunities before Marlen Murzakhmatov equalized with a long-range shot.

Coach Kim Sang-sik celebrates with goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien after Vietnam's victory over Kyrgyzstan in the second match of Group A at the U23 Asian Cup finals, held at King Abdullah Sports City Hall, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 9/1. Photo: AFC

The second half became more intense, with both coach Edmar Lacerda and Kim Sang-sik making a series of substitutions after the 60th minute. Lacerda brought on Erbol Abduzhaparov and Nurbol Baktybekov, while Kim refreshed his attack with Nguyen Dinh Bac, Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong, and Le Van Thuan. "These changes proved effective for Vietnam in the 87th minute when Van Thuan's dangerous header deflected off Khristiian Brauzman and went into the net", the AFC wrote.

In another article, the confederation highlighted that Dinh Bac and Van Thuan helped Vietnam "make a late surge to find the decisive goal". Dinh Bac, experiencing a muscle issue, could only enter the field in the 63rd minute. Van Thuan, however, has often made an impact from the bench.

Match highlights.

Coach Kim demonstrated his tactical acumen at SEA Games 33, where all five of Vietnam's goals in the semifinals and final involved substitutes. In the U23 Asian Cup match on the evening of 9/1, Dinh Bac played energetically despite not being in his best physical condition, and Van Thuan contributed to the decisive goal.

All four of Vietnam's goals at the U23 Asian Cup 2026 finals share one commonality: they all came from set pieces. This has been a key weapon that helped the team win the gold medal at SEA Games 33.

This result marks Vietnam U23's 13th consecutive official win under coach Kim. In Southeast Asia, Thailand U23 holds the record for 17 consecutive official wins during the 2003-2006 period, across SEA Games 22, the U23 Southeast Asian Championship 2005, SEA Games 23, and the Asiad 15 group stage. To match Thailand's record, Kim's squad needs to win four more matches, which would mean winning the U23 Asian Cup 2026 championship.

In their next match, Vietnam will face hosts Saudi Arabia on the evening of 12/1.