Coach Kim Sang-sik instructs his players during a training trip in South Korea. — Photo VFF

Football

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese national team head coach Kim Sang-sik expressed his satisfaction with his players' progress during their training in South Korea, and confirmed that the team is aiming to reach the final of the 2024 ASEAN Cup.

"The team's goal is to reach the tournament final. This is the expectation for all Vietnamese fans, the entire team, and myself," Kim stated. "To achieve this, we must perform our best starting from the opening match against Laos and aim to win every game."

The South Korean coach added: "The players and I deeply understand the passion for football among the Vietnamese people. We will strive to meet everyone's expectations with positive results at the upcoming ASEAN Cup. We need everyone's support."

To prepare for the regional tournament, the Vietnamese team underwent a 10-day training session in Gyeongju, South Korea, and competed against K.League clubs. They achieved victories against Ulsan Citizen (2-0), Daegu FC (2-0), and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (3-1).

Through these matches, Coach Kim has gradually established stability in both personnel and playing style for the Vietnamese team. "I see that the players' skills are improving, and the team's tactics and techniques have advanced significantly. The Vietnamese players possess a strong passion for football, along with determination and motivation. I am very satisfied with this," he remarked.

Based on the players' performances, Kim is optimistic that the Vietnamese team can maximise their collective strength in the ASEAN Cup competition.

Kim and his players returned home from South Korea on Tuesday to finalise preparations for the 2024 ASEAN Cup campaign. Before travelling to Laos for their opening match in Group B on December 9, the Vietnamese team will gain additional resources from Nam Định Green Steel Club, which will finish the group stage of the AFC Champions League Two 2024-25 on Wednesday.

The 2024 ASEAN Cup will begin on December 8, with the final match scheduled for January 5, 2025. The tournament will feature 10 teams from Southeast Asia. Group A includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Timor Leste, while Group B consists of Việt Nam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos.

Teams will compete in a round-robin format, with each team playing two home matches and two away matches. At the conclusion of the group stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals. Both the semi-finals and finals will be played over two legs, home and away, with the away goals rule applied in the semi-finals.

Việt Nam will have two home matches against Indonesia (December 15) and Myanmar (December 21), both taking place at 8pm at Việt Trì Stadium in Phú Thọ Province, which has a capacity of 20,000 seats.

To prepare for these matches, the Việt Nam Football Federation has announced ticket prices ranging from VNĐ100,000 to VNĐ300,000 per ticket.

In the ASEAN Cup 2022, Việt Nam finished as the runner-up after losing to Thailand in the final. VNS