Coach Kim Sang Sik shifts full focus to SEA Games 33

Vietnam national team returned home on the afternoon of 20 November after defeating Laos 2-0 in the away match of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, officially wrapping up their final international fixture of 2025 under head coach Kim Sang-sik.

In 2025, Vietnam played a total of eight international matches, winning seven and losing one. The team recorded two victories over Thailand in the first and second legs of the ASEAN Cup 2024 final (2-1, 3-2), and produced a mixed but largely positive run in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers: beating Laos 5-0 and 2-0, Nepal 3-1 and 1-0, and losing 0-4 to Malaysia — a match later ruled controversial as FIFA concluded the Malaysian side had fielded seven ineligible naturalised players. Vietnam also began their qualifying campaign preparations with a 2-1 friendly win over Cambodia at Binh Duong Stadium.

Vietnam also received encouraging news as they climbed one spot to 110th in the November 2025 FIFA World Ranking. Notably, this improvement came even before the points from the 2-0 win over Laos were added, meaning the national team is expected to rise again in the next ranking update.

Following the completion of their national duties, players have returned to their respective clubs. Meanwhile, coach Kim Sang-sik and his staff will regroup with the U23 Vietnam squad in Vung Tau on 23 November to prepare for SEA Games 33.

Vietnam will return for the next FIFA Days in 2026, starting with the decisive final Asian Cup qualifier against Malaysia on 31 March 2026.

At SEA Games 33, U23 Vietnam are placed in the same group as U23 Laos and U23 Malaysia. Coach Kim’s side will face Laos in their opener on 4 December, before taking on Malaysia on 11 December. U23 Vietnam previously won SEA Games gold in 2019 and 2022 but settled for bronze at SEA Games 32 after a 2-3 semifinal loss to Indonesia. Their mission this year is clear: reclaim the gold medal after a three-year wait.