Vietnam National Team: If not now, then when?

After feasting on the grand banquets of the 2026 World Cup, it's time for Vietnam's national football team to return to its more practical concerns. This is not merely about the ambition to successfully defend the ASEAN Cup 2026 championship, starting with a match against Timor Leste in Chonburi Municipality, Thailand (July 24).

Earlier, in the 2024 ASEAN Cup, the Vietnamese team appeared disjointed in the early matches and showed no clear superiority over rivals like Indonesia or the Philippines. It was only when naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son appeared from the match against Myanmar onward that the dream of winning the title was rekindled. In the end, we claimed our third championship by overcoming archrivals Thailand in the final match.

The role of naturalized foreign players is becoming increasingly important for Vietnam's football ambitions, both at the club and national team levels. Right now, coach Kim Sang Sik has at his disposal three of the best attacking players in the V-League over the past half-decade: Xuan Son (Rafaelson), Hoang Hen (Hendrio), and Tai Loc (Geovane). The recent crushing victory over Myanmar demonstrated this, with three of the four goals scored by these individuals.

Although Hoang Duc, Quang Hai, Dinh Bac, and even winger Truong Tien Anh are also outstanding, it is clear that their confidence comes from playing alongside Vietnamese-origin stars with foreign roots. While Hoang Hen is always a reliable target for every attacking move, Hendrio and Tai Loc possess the ability to operate independently and effectively. The difference is made by their finishing skills—the eternal weakness of Vietnamese football throughout its history.

Coach Kim Sang Sik is currently backed by one of the most quality squads in the history of Vietnam's national football team over the past 30 years, since the country's reintegration into international football. Unlike the generations of 2008 or 2018, this team is undoubtedly more potent in attack and, naturally, has a higher capacity for success.

And now, the ASEAN Cup title feels like a shirt with missing fabric, especially since our strongest rivals Thailand and Indonesia have not called up their strongest squads. Upgrading the ambition for Vietnamese football is a demand of the times. If not now, then when will we wait?

The 2026 ASEAN Cup and the subsequent preparation period serve as an ideal springboard for the goal at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, where we will face the UAE, South Korea, and Yemen in Group E.

Vietnam's best achievement in the Asian Cup was reaching the quarterfinals in 2007 and 2019, so this is the best opportunity for coach Kim Sang Sik to improve the ranking for the goal of stabilizing among the top 12 football nations in Asia by 2030, and further, a World Cup spot—now expanded in number of teams—with the qualifying campaign starting in early 2027 and early 2028.

We do not have a policy of mass naturalization of foreign players for a longer-term strategy. However, at this point, considering the necessary and sufficient conditions, as well as the proven value of the names we have, the ambition to go deep in the 2027 Asian Cup and the goal of the 2030 World Cup are well-founded with this generation of players—no longer just a dream as before.

Vietnamese football needs to appear on a bigger stage after long lingering in the region, because this is crucial. It serves as an inspiration and attracts excellent investment resources, much like the tiny nation of Cape Verde at the 2026 World Cup!

Let's believe that we have what it takes!