Vietnam National Team: Midfielders Score Better Than Forwards

The latest training camp roster for the Vietnam national team reveals a clear trend: the midfield line is not only tasked with organization but also "outshines" the forward line in both scoring ability and role within the playing style. This is not a coincidence, but a deliberate tactical choice.

Looking at the summoned squad, it's evident that the midfield is the position where Coach Kim Sang Sik places high expectations. The selected players lean heavily towards attacking roles. Except for Thanh Long as a true holding midfielder, the remaining names such as Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Hoang Duc, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Hai Long, and Do Hoang Hen are all players inclined to push forward, even capable of playing as forwards.

A notable point is that in previous training camps, Coach Kim Sang Sik experimented with continuous positional swaps between midfielders and forwards. Most players can play as wing forwards. This is a modern approach, where the boundary between midfielders and forwards increasingly blurs.

This change becomes even clearer when comparing scoring performance between the two lines. In the list recently selected by Coach Kim Sang Sik, the forward line with names Nguyen Xuan Son, Pham Tuan Hai, Nguyen Tran Viet Cuong, and Pham Gia Hung scored only a total of 10 goals in V-League and all struggle to maintain form.

Record-holder Xuan Son has only 1 goal after 6 matches. Tuan Hai also scored just 1 goal in the last 9 rounds. Viet Cuong and Gia Hung are no better, each having only 1 goal in recent matches, with Gia Hung just ending a 5-match scoring drought with a consolation goal (1-2) for Ninh Binh in the loss to CAHN.

These numbers reflect a worrying reality: the forwards are losing their scoring instinct precisely when the Vietnam national team plays during FIFA Days.

Conversely, the midfield line is "carrying" the scoring burden. Hoang Hen stands out with 6 goals and 4 assists in the last 10 matches, greatly contributing to Hanoi FC's return to the championship race. Hoang Duc, despite a period of stagnation, managed to score 6 goals since the start of the season, becoming one of the best domestic scorers in the league.

Quang Hai has 3 goals, Van Khang 3 goals, and Hai Long also contributed 2 scoring efforts; the least scorer among them is holding midfielder Thanh Long with a superb goal against Ninh Binh in round 16. Overall, the 6 midfielders in Coach Kim Sang Sik's announced list scored 21 goals, 11 more than the forwards. Among the selected midfielders, notably Hai Long has a knack for scoring whenever called up to the national team and is often deployed as a forward by Coach Kim Sang Sik.

These statistics promise to give Coach Kim Sang Sik more confidence in the midfielders. The Vietnam national team now no longer relies on a lone target striker, but distributes scoring responsibility across multiple positions. This makes the team more unpredictable, but also raises questions about effectiveness without a true "finisher."

Clearly, Coach Kim Sang Sik prioritizes versatile players who can flexibly assume multiple roles on the field. In this context, pure forwards are disadvantaged. If they don't improve their form, they could all lose starting spots to the midfielders (who are playing like forwards).

In reality, apart from Xuan Son who likely secures the center forward position as a rare forward in Vietnamese football over many years, the wing forwards could all be replaced. Gia Hung, Tuan Hai, Viet Cuong won't easily compete for starting spots with midfielders who can perform better in those positions, such as Quang Hai, Hai Long, Van Khang, and especially Hoang Hen.

Hoang Hen can also readily act as a center forward replacing Xuan Son when needed, as this player has the physique, knows how to play as a target, and possesses diverse finishing skills.

Coach Kim Sang Sik is heading towards a FIFA Days period with many positives, from Malaysia's official forfeit loss to building a squad rich in ideas. To succeed, the Korean coach understands the importance of finding a balance between creativity and efficiency, between versatility and specialization.