Vietnam face new test at FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026: Kim Sang-sik's time puzzle

Hotel corridors before the World Cup say more than any press conference of the summer. But here, ahead of the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026, the story is not in the corridors but in the fixture list. Cong An Ha Noi (CAHN) just finished their Champions League Elite match against Osaka on September 15, then had to play V-League against Dong Nai on September 20. Seven key national team players - Quang Hai, Dinh Bac, Nguyen Filip, Van Hau, Van Do, Thanh Long, Quang Vinh - will have only a few days with the squad before departing for Indonesia. People look at the fixture list and see overlap. I look at it and see a structural puzzle that any coach must face: how to build a winning team when time is the most luxurious commodity. The Group B opener against the Philippines on September 26 is not just a match. It is a test of Kim Sang-sik's adaptability - the South Korean coach who led Vietnam to the previous ASEAN Cup title under ideal preparation conditions. But this time, everything is different. In theory, Kim has about two weeks to work with the full squad. In reality, the CAHN players will have only five or six days. This is a significant departure from previous tournaments when he had considerably more time to build tactics and create cohesion. I have followed Vietnam national team matches for many years. From my experience, the technical issues mentioned in the article - those remaining after the ASEAN Cup 2026 - are not new. But what is new here is the time pressure. When you have two weeks, you can fix details. When you have five days, you can only reinforce what already exists. Kim will have to make a choice: either simplify tactics to fit the short preparation time, or accept the risk of a complex system that players have not yet internalized. Structurally, CAHN has become the primary supplier of players for the national team in recent times. This creates a systemic dependency: if CAHN faces scheduling problems, fitness issues, or player availability concerns, the national team is directly affected. Not many regional rivals face this level of resource concentration. This is a unique structural feature of Vietnamese football - and a potential weakness. Vietnam's opponents are expected to field their strongest squads. The Philippines, the opening opponent, is not traditionally among ASEAN's elite, but they have motivation and fuller preparation. A stumble in the opening match would create immediate pressure on Kim and the whole team. This is not just a professional issue but also a psychological one. The pandemic did not kill the market, it stripped bare the guessers. Similarly, this congested fixture list is not unusual in modern football. The issue is how tournament organizers and federations handle it. FIFA is increasingly involved in regional tournaments, but this does not automatically resolve club-versus-country scheduling conflicts. The V-League arranged an early match for CAHN on September 20 - this shows the league is prioritizing support for clubs in continental competition, but simultaneously putting the national team at a disadvantage. Every big deal starts with a text message. And in football, every big victory starts with a quality training session. With five or six days of preparation, the quality of Vietnam's training sessions cannot be optimal. Coordinated pressing drills, set pieces, inter-line understanding - all need time to perfect. Kim may have to prioritize defensive solidity over attacking fluency in the opening match. Interestingly, despite these difficulties, there is another perspective. The CAHN players come from a high-performance environment - Champions League Elite and V-League - so they have better match fitness than players who have only trained for long periods. They have match rhythm, ball feel, and confidence from regular competition. The issue is not fitness or individual technique, but connection with new teammates. In modern football, this connection can be built faster through video analysis and tactical meetings - but nothing replaces playing together on the pitch. I do not listen to promises, I read release clauses. Similarly, I do not believe in optimistic statements before tournaments. I look at the fixture list, look at the actual number of training days, and I make my assessment. Vietnam remains a top contender for the title, but the road to the crown will be bumpier than in the previous edition. The question is not whether Vietnam will win, but whether Kim can adapt to non-ideal circumstances - and whether the players can overcome the time barrier to find the necessary cohesion. The Philippines is not an overly strong opponent, but they will play with their strongest squad and highest spirit. In football, a weaker team that is well-prepared can always cause surprises. This is especially true in the opening match, when the stronger team has not yet found its rhythm. Kim needs to have a clear plan for this match - and that plan must account for the reality that the starting XI may never have played together in an official match. Looking ahead, what interests me most is not the result of the opening match. What interests me is how Kim handles this situation. Will he simplify tactics? Will he use players who have been in camp longer to build a foundation, then add the CAHN players? Or will he gamble with the strongest lineup from the start, accepting the risk of lack of cohesion? Each choice has its own consequences. Southeast Asian football is changing. Teams are no longer shy about investing in squad quality. The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia - all are improving. In this context, Vietnam's advantage in squad depth and player quality remains, but the preparation advantage is narrowing. This is something Vietnamese football leadership needs to note, not just for this tournament but for the future. One more point to emphasize: physical conditioning. CAHN players come from a congested schedule - Champions League Elite, V-League - while other players have been in camp for longer. This difference in physical state can create unevenness in play. Kim needs to manage training load intelligently to avoid injuries and ensure all players peak at the right time. Do not ask why Napoli dared to spend. Ask why they did not have to liquidate anyone to get the money. Similarly, do not ask why CAHN has so many players in the national team. Ask why the Vietnamese football system depends on one club to such an extent. This is a structural question that no one in the original article addresses. If CAHN faces financial crisis or changes direction, the national team will be severely affected. This resource concentration is a double-edged sword. Tactically, I predict Kim will use a 3-4-3 or 4-3-3 formation with possession-based play and quick transitions - consistent with his philosophy during his Vietnam tenure. But with short preparation time, he may have to simplify. A more direct approach, based on quick transitions and exploiting the pace of wingers, might be the safer choice. This does not mean abandoning the possession philosophy, but adapting to reality. The match against the Philippines will give us the first answer. If Vietnam wins convincingly, all concerns will dissipate. If Vietnam struggles, pressure will mount on Kim and the players. But regardless of the result, the biggest lesson from this tournament will be about fixture management and club-country coordination. This is not just Vietnam's problem but the whole region's. I will closely follow Vietnam's progress in this tournament. Not because I want to see them fail - but because I want to see how they overcome the challenge. In football, as in life, people are not judged by what they do when everything is favorable, but by what they do when everything is against them. The FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 will be such a test for Kim Sang-sik and his players. And when the tournament ends, whatever the result, the question remains: Will we learn the lesson about protecting preparation time for the national team? Or will we repeat the same mistakes at the next edition? The answer lies in how we handle this problem right now, not in how we celebrate or complain later.