'Coach Kim Sang Sik’s substitution was inappropriate'

Expert Phan Anh Tú openly remarked that Coach Kim Sang Sik’s substitution in the second half against Nepal on October 14 was ill-considered.

Vietnam’s 1-0 victory over Nepal on the evening of October 14 left some concerns as the team failed to capitalize on clear chances and played disjointedly in the latter half. Football analyst Phan Anh Tú commented that Coach Kim Sang Sik made some illogical substitutions in the second half:

"I believe the substitutions made in the second half were not appropriate. The attacking lines were very disconnected because the forward pairs and units lacked harmony, almost as if they had never played together before. When playing as a front pair, players need to understand each other and create synergy. In the first half, Vietnam controlled the game well, but in the second half, the performance dropped below expectations."

Mr. Phan Anh Tú candidly pointed out that Coach Kim Sang Sik’s decision to replace Hoàng Đức with Đức Chiến in the second half was the key factor that completely changed the match dynamics:

“Bringing Đức Chiến on for Hoàng Đức caused Vietnam to lose mobility and connection between lines since there were two defensive midfielders on the field. We completely lost control of the midfield to Nepal. Instead of attacking, we had to focus on defending the opponent’s attacks,” Mr. Phan Anh Tú observed.

“In the second half, the opponent dominated the match and played well, even though their players were not as high quality as ours. Instead of managing the game better, Vietnam chose to defend. Later, the team switched to counterattacking but without success", he added.

In the following minutes, Coach Kim Sang Sik introduced Hai Long and Đình Bắc. Both showed good speed with attempts to penetrate the goal but failed to score. Regarding this, Mr. Tú added:“Hai Long and Đình Bắc’s speed was ineffective. Players running at pace struggled with the wet conditions and ball control. For that reason, I think the substitutions in the second half today were relatively problematic.”

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