Vietnamese Football: Stepping Out of the 'Comfort Zone'

There is a slight sense of disappointment after the first FIFA ASEAN Cup season was announced. Basically, aside from the FIFA label, this tournament seems to be just a limited version of the ASEAN Cup rather than the expected 'expansion'. It's unclear how it will develop in the long run, but to be fair, unless there is some special commercial appeal, it's very difficult for any team in the top 10 of Asia to agree to participate in a Southeast Asian regional tournament.

The first FIFA ASEAN Cup season brings together 11 Southeast Asian teams along with three guests: India, Hong Kong (China), and Pakistan, taking place during the extended FIFA Days at the end of September. In terms of format, this is a step forward, as matches count as official friendly coefficients and allow teams to field their strongest squads. However, looking at Vietnam's group, opponents are still mainly Thailand, the Philippines, and newcomer Pakistan, a team playing its first tournament outside South Asia. In other words, the competition has a new name and a few extra matches per year, but the essence remains that Southeast Asian teams continue to play each other, rather than being exposed to a truly higher level.

From here, consider even-numbered years, when the second round of World Cup qualifiers usually takes place, with teams divided into seeded groups or continental zones. It is highly likely that Southeast Asian teams will still play each other in nearly ten matches per year.

For example, in 2024, Vietnam played 11 out of a total of 17 international matches against Southeast Asian teams. Out of the four friendlies we arranged, only Russia was a higher-level opponent (the other three were Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, and India). If the FIFA ASEAN Cup falls on even years together with the current ASEAN Cup, it will only reduce the number of friendlies.

After the expanded naturalization policy, when the strongest squad is assembled during FIFA Days, the Vietnamese national team is likely to have 7-8 naturalized and overseas Vietnamese players in the starting lineup. With such an invested force, what Vietnamese football needs is not more matches, but truly high-quality matches with different playing styles to challenge and shape the team's gameplay.

The lesson from Chinese football is a thought-provoking example. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, they have regularly held 2-3 international friendlies each year, but most of the invited opponents are of equal level, mainly from Central Asia. This approach is completely different from the training camps of South Korea or Japan, where friendly opponents are always chosen at a much higher level to create real pressure. As a result, the quality of Chinese football has not improved proportionally to the number of matches, clearly reflected in their current FIFA ranking of 91st, a figure that is not commensurate with the scale of investment in this football nation.

So, we don't know if the FIFA tournament will change in the future, but in the short term, Vietnamese football must reconsider its path. If we keep only 'playing internally' as now, it will be very difficult to make a real breakthrough in level, and this essentially 'wastes' the current naturalization efforts and the long-term youth training strategy. The 'foreign-born' elements or overseas Vietnamese players playing in Europe demand a modern tactical system and truly high-quality matches to maximize their capabilities. If we still use this 'elite' force only to solve regional matches, it will be a terrible waste of resources.

But regardless, before demanding change, let's prove the difference right at the ASEAN Cup.

Possessing what is considered the strongest squad in the region, Vietnam needs to show superiority not only in results but also in the way they operate their gameplay in each match: from match control, tactical thinking, to imposing their style on opponents. Winning the championship is a mandatory target, but more importantly, it is the way to achieve it.

Coach Kim Sang Sik seems to have also seen this. Even against Timor Leste, the weakest team in Group A, he still chose a continuous attacking style, maximizing the offensive line rather than simply controlling the score. His goal may be to push the current strength to its highest limits.

Winning convincingly against Southeast Asian teams is the best way for us to stop thinking about how to win this tournament. When the team can impose absolute dominance over regional teams, that is when we are qualified to transition to a new development stage, where the standard is no longer the Southeast Asian championship.

The rest of the ASEAN Cup 2026 becomes worth watching, for that reason.