HANOI: Vietnam coach Kim Sang-sik stands on the cusp of leading his team into a second consecutive final, having won the title in the 2024 edition, and the South Korean coach is determined to oversee an improved performance from his team.
“I know that we have the advantage from the first leg with the 2-0 result, but for the match tomorrow we still have to be focused and, through our training and analysis, we also want to improve our performance,” he said.
“In the first leg in Malaysia, we faced difficulties from (wingers Mohamadou Sumareh and Gunalan Pavithran), and we faced a lot of attacks from both sides.
“We’ve tried to improve this through our training and our meetings, and for the match tomorrow, we have more plans to attack and to be focused on the match.”
The defending champions laboured against an injury-ravaged home side on Sunday, with Nguyễn Xuân Son netting his third goal of the tournament before an own goal by defender Faris Danish earned Vietnam the advantage ahead of Wednesday’s return leg in Hanoi.
Kim also praised goalkeeper Lê Giang Patrik, who produced two wonderful saves, a first-half block from close range by Paulo Josué and then palming away a powerful drive by Faris in the closing minutes of the first leg.
“Patrik is the first time appointed in the Vietnam national team, and his passion, physical ability, everything is ready and well prepared. Being the last player behind, he keeps communicating with our defence line, and that's a big responsibility for him. I'm really satisfied with his performance,” said Kim.
Despite entering as favourites based on current form, Vietnam still face a historical hurdle ahead of the second-leg semifinals against Malaysia in the 2026 Asean Hyundai Cup.
In their three knockout-stage encounters at the Asean top football event, Vietnam claimed victory in one final to claim the 2018 title, but Malaysia eliminated the Golden Star Warriors in both previous semifinal matchups in 2010 and 2014.
Overall, Vietnam boast a superior record against their regional rivals with nine wins, three draws and only three losses in 15 Asean Cup meetings. They have also scored 22 goals while conceding 15.
However, one haunting fact is that two of those three defeats occurred specifically in the crucial semifinals.
The teams first clashed in the semifinals of the 2010 edition. Vietnam played the first leg away in Kuala Lumpur and suffered a 0-2 defeat. Safee Sali emerged as the hero for the hosts, scoring a brace in the second half. Four days later at My Dinh Stadium, Vietnam failed to score, resulting in a 0-0 draw that saw Malaysia advance 2-0 on aggregate. Malaysia later claimed their first-ever title by defeating Indonesia in the final.
In 2014, the rivals met in the semifinals once again. The first leg unfolded favourably for Vietnam at Shah Alam Stadium, as the guests secured a 2-1 away win.
However, the return leg at My Dinh was a nightmare. Malaysia scored four goals in the first half, including two in the first 16 minutes. Vietnam lost 2-4 on the night, leading to a 4-5 aggregate defeat.
Vietnam found knockout success against Malaysia in the 2018 final. After a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Vietnam had a 1-0 win in the second leg in My Dinh, triumphing 3-2 on aggregate to claim their first title in a decade.
Besides their three encounters in the semifinals and final, Vietnam and Malaysia also faced each other twice in the third-place playoff. Malaysia won 3-0 in 2000, while Vietnam won 2-1 in 2002.
Vietnam have also dominated Malaysia in the group stages, securing convincing victories in 2020 (3-0), 2022 (3-0) and 2018 (2-0).
