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Kim Sang-sik leads Vietnam to victory at Mitsubishi Electric Cup

Published: 06 Jan. 2025, 12:56

PAIK JI-HWAN
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Vietnamese national team manager Kim Sang-sik, center, lifts the Mitsubishi Electric Cup trophy after winning the final against Thailand at Rajamangala National Stadium in Thailand on Jan. 5. [AFP/YONHAP]

Korean manager Kim Sang-sik led Vietnam to victory at the Mitsubishi Electric Cup with a 5-3 aggregate win over Thailand in the final on Sunday.

With a 2-1 win in the first leg in hand, Vietnam needed to keep their lead on the road at Rajamangala National Stadium in Thailand.

The match went in Vietnam’s favor in the early minutes, with Pham Tuan Hai opening the scoring in the eighth minute and extending the aggregate score.

But Thailand reduced the deficit with Ben Davis finding the back of the net in the 28th minute, before Supachok Sarachat leveled the score in the 64th minute.

Thailand scored again in the 82nd minute, but at the wrong end of the pitch, with Pansa Hemviboon knocking in an own goal. Nguyen Hai Long finished the game, scoring in stoppage time to seal the 3-2 win and 5-3 victory on aggregate.

Vietnam secured their third Mitsubishi Cup title with the win and their first since 2018. The Mitsubishi Cup is South East Asia’s top tournament and has taken place biennially since 1996.

Sunday’s title is the first trophy that Kim has lifted with Vietnam since he took the helm in May last year. Kim is the second Korean boss to lead Vietnam after Park Hang-seo, who saw huge success from 2017 to 2023, during which he won the AFF Suzuki Cup and Mitsubishi Electric Cup with the national team and two South Asian Games with the U-23 team, in addition to elevating Vietnamese football to a significantly higher level, bringing up the country’s FIFA ranking from around No. 130 to the low 90s.

Fellow Korean manager Shin Tae-young, meanwhile, led Indonesia during this year’s Mitsubishi Cup, but failed to reach the knockout stage after finishing in third place in Group B with only the top two teams advancing to the semifinals.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]