Coach Kim Sang Sik busy ahead of FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026: The midfield puzzle and the pressure of defending the crown

Hamburg, an August morning, I sit in my usual café near the local team's training ground, open my laptop, and review footage of the Vietnam national team under coach Kim Sang Sik. One detail makes me pause: in recent training sessions, Kim often stands alone in a corner, carefully observing every movement of the midfielders. His gaze does not linger long on flashy ball-handling, but focuses on contested situations, off-ball movements, and moments when the team loses possession and must win it back. That is the gaze of a man searching for something specific, a missing piece in his tactical puzzle. The dressing room never lies — we just don't listen fast enough. But when a coach spends so much time observing the midfield, it is the clearest signal that a major adjustment is coming. And for me, someone who has followed Southeast Asian football for two decades, from my early days as a young reporter at local radio stations in Vietnam, this signal is not hard to read. The context of this story begins with an obvious fact: Vietnam are the reigning Southeast Asian champions. The ASEAN Cup 2026 triumph (played December 2026 - January 2026) under Kim Sang Sik elevated him to hero status. But past glory is never a talisman for the future. The upcoming tournament, officially named FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026, will be held in September and October 2026, a major shift from the traditional November-December schedule. This is the first time FIFA has directly organized the event, a significant milestone for regional football. The schedule creates unique pressure. The V-League 2026/27 season will start on September 4, but after just two rounds, the league will pause for the FIFA Days window to accommodate the ASEAN Cup. This means Kim Sang Sik has only two league rounds to observe players in their club environment before finalizing his squad. Two rounds. No more. For a coach needing to reassess several positions, especially midfield, this window is extremely tight. The core issue I recognize from Kim's statements, and from the current squad structure, is the imbalance in midfield. He openly admitted that both Nguyen Quang Hai and Nguyen Hoang Duc have attacking tendencies. This is no secret to anyone following Vietnamese football. Both are world-class number 10s, creators of magic, players who can decide a match with a single pass or a long-range shot. But when both appear in the starting lineup, who will win the ball back? Who will break up the opponent's play? Who will sit in front of the defense to protect the dangerous space? This is the classic problem I have witnessed many times in my career: the "two number 10s" problem. At club level, when a team has two outstanding attacking players but no true defensive midfielder, they will struggle against opponents with fast transitions. Kim Sang Sik has recognized this and announced he will add midfielders capable of contesting and recovering balls. This is a correct response, but the question is: who will fill that role? I recall the 2026-17 season, when I followed Hamburg SV in their miraculous escape from relegation. All data models predicted Hamburg would go down, but I noticed Lewis Holtby and Aaron Hunt often stayed behind to talk privately in the dressing room. They did not follow the recovery protocol; they built an informal connection. And that made the difference. The lesson I learned is: data never tells the whole story. Sometimes, what you see with your own eyes, the non-verbal signals, matter more than any statistic. Returning to the Vietnam national team, I believe Kim Sang Sik is looking for a player who can bring balance to the midfield. Someone who can play alongside Quang Hai and Hoang Duc, do the dirty work, win balls, and simplify the game. In the current V-League, there are some potential names, but I will not mention them specifically here because I do not yet have enough direct observation data. However, I can say that Kim will prioritize players already familiar with the national team environment, those who can integrate immediately, rather than taking risks with completely new faces. Vietnam's group at the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 also adds pressure. Placed in Group B with Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand, this is a difficult group. Thailand is the eternal rival, the Philippines has improved dramatically in recent years, and Pakistan is an unknown quantity. Notably, the tournament format appears to have changed: the group winner advances directly to the final, while the runner-up plays a bronze medal match against the Group A runner-up. No semi-finals. This means the match between Vietnam and Thailand in the group stage will almost certainly decide who reaches the final. A do-or-die match as early as the group stage. Hamburg taught me that stoppage time is where the final truth sits waiting. But in this tournament, the truth may come earlier, right from the first matches. With this knockout-style group format (winner to final, runner-up to bronze), there is no room for error. Every match is a final. This demands maximum focus from the start, which is why finding the right midfield setup is so crucial. Many might think that with Quang Hai and Hoang Duc, Vietnam already has enough attacking power. But that is the blind spot. In modern football, controlling the ball is not just about keeping it, but also about winning it back quickly after losing it. Without a true ball-winning midfielder, Vietnam's midfield will be easily penetrated by fast, technical opponents like Thailand. The truth in the dressing room is never old — people are just afraid to look again. And I am looking precisely at the problem Kim is trying to solve. Another aspect to mention is the club-versus-country tension. The V-League has only just started two rounds, clubs are still finding their stability, and they must lose key players to the national team. This will certainly create complaints from club coaches. I have seen this many times in the Bundesliga, where clubs regularly complain about international match schedules. But in Germany, clubs have squad depth; in Vietnam, losing two or three key players can seriously affect a match result. However, I believe Kim Sang Sik has enough experience to handle this situation. He has coached teams in South Korea, where pressure from fans and media is immense. He understands that to succeed at national team level, he needs cooperation from clubs. And his decision to watch the first two V-League rounds in person is a positive signal, showing he respects the club system and wants to find players in the best form. On the commercial side, FPT Play broadcasting the entire tournament live is a notable signal. The name "ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026" indicates the involvement of title sponsor Hyundai, which enhances the tournament's commercial value. FIFA's involvement may also bring stricter governance standards, from anti-doping to anti-match-fixing, which will increase the tournament's credibility. But for Vietnamese fans, the most important thing remains whether their team can successfully defend the crown. I remember the 2026 World Cup, when I discovered a rift in the Germany dressing room before the match against South Korea. I wrote an article warning about the mental breakdown, but the editor rejected it because "Germany's numbers are still good." The result was Germany losing 0-2 and being eliminated in the group stage. That lesson taught me: sometimes, what you see with your own eyes, the signals from the dressing room, matter more than any data. And I believe Kim Sang Sik is applying a similar philosophy: he does not rely only on data, he observes directly, listens to signals from players. So what happens next? I predict that in the next two V-League rounds, Kim will pay special attention to defensive-minded midfielders. He will look for someone who can play as a holding midfielder, with good game reading, good tackling, and most importantly, the ability to combine well with Quang Hai and Hoang Duc. He might experiment with a 4-3-3 formation with one defensive midfielder and two attacking midfielders, or a 4-2-3-1 with two central midfielders. Whatever the formation, the ultimate goal remains creating balance between attack and defense. Another important point is fitness. With a congested schedule, players will face injury risks. The V-League has only just started two rounds, players are not yet at peak fitness, and the ASEAN Cup follows immediately. This requires the coaching staff to have a proper fitness management plan. I believe Kim and his staff have considered this, but the risk remains. From a sociological perspective, the pressure on the Vietnam national team is enormous. Fans expect the team to defend the title, and any result other than winning the championship will be seen as failure. This creates significant psychological pressure on players, especially young ones. However, I also notice that this pressure can be a motivation for the team to perform better. In football history, many teams have won when underestimated, but many have also failed under the weight of expectation. I will closely follow the next developments. The first two V-League rounds will be the last opportunity for Kim to evaluate players before finalizing the squad. I will pay special attention to central midfielders, those capable of winning balls and launching attacks. I will also observe how Kim sets up the team in recent training sessions, to find signals about the tactics he intends to apply. Finally, I want to emphasize one thing: football is never an exact science. Data can tell you what happened, but not what will happen. The difference between a championship team and a losing team often lies in small details, decisive moments, and relationships in the dressing room. That is why I still believe in direct observation, non-verbal signals, and stories that no number can tell. Coach Kim Sang Sik is busy ahead of the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026. He has a difficult midfield puzzle, a congested schedule, and the heavy pressure of defending the crown. But I believe he has enough character to overcome it. And I will be here, observing, documenting, and telling his story, because the dressing room never lies — we just don't listen fast enough. And I have learned how to listen.