AFF Cup 2026: When 'Veteran' Van Quyet Was Dropped, Vietnamese Football Is Shooting Itself in the Foot

Minute 88, Viet Tri Stadium, the score is 1-1 in a closed friendly against a lower-tier team. Head Coach Kim Sang-sik stands frozen as he watches his young attacking line miss three clear-cut chances in a row. I sit in the livestream room, staring at the screen, and suddenly remember a name the whole country is forgetting: Nguyen Van Quyet. Don't look at the scoreline, look at the expressions on the coaching bench – that says more than any goal. This is not the story of a veteran being abandoned, but the story of how we are stripping ourselves of our sharpest weapon ahead of AFF Cup 2026.

The context I'm referring to: AFF Cup 2026 runs from December 8, 2026 to January 5, 2026, and Vietnam is in Group B alongside Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos. This is the tournament fans have placed all their faith in after witnessing a dismal run under Philippe Troussier – only 2 wins in 10 final matches before his dismissal. Coach Kim Sang-sik arrived with a promise to 'revive' a distinctive playing style, but his handling of Van Quyet – who scored 5 goals in 7 recent V-League matches – reveals a baffling waste.

The core issue isn't whether to call up Van Quyet or not, but that we are misjudging the value of experience in a short-format tournament. Peak experience is not something that can be replaced by speed or stamina, especially in matches spaced only 3 days apart. Look at the data: in the last 5 AFF Cup matches, Vietnam scored 12 goals, but 7 of them came from set pieces – where Van Quyet's positioning and reading of the game are second to none. With 5 substitutions available per match, keeping a 'super sub' like Van Quyet for the final 20 minutes – when opponents' defenses lose concentration – is exactly the tactical weapon Coach Kim is throwing away.

I witnessed something similar at World Cup 2026 – where seasoned players like Pepe or Moutinho turned matches with intelligence, not speed. Livestream is where hearts are exposed, and I vividly remember Van Quyet's goal against Malaysia in 2026 – a header from a corner kick where he chose his spot like a seasoned hunter. When football stopped spinning, I found the pulse in every keystroke – and in FIFA Online 4, I learned that players with high 'reaction' stats always make the difference in the final minutes. Empty stadiums don't cool matches, they only amplify emotions – and that very emotion, what Van Quyet brings to the dressing room, is what cannot be measured by any statistic.

The contrarian angle here is: perhaps Coach Kim is right to want to rejuvenate the squad for the future. I could be wrong. But if he truly wants to build a new generation, why not do it after this tournament? At Euro 2026, I wrote: 'Don't blame the three black boys – blame the man who chose them.' And now, I see the same script: discarding the most precious experience just to prove a tactical point. If Vietnam's young attack crumbles against Indonesia's or Philippines' solid defenses, the question won't be 'why did we rejuvenate' but 'why did we rejuvenate at this moment'.

I write hot takes so that when I look back, I can see I once had fire in my blood. And my prediction is crystal clear: if Van Quyet is not recalled before the semi-finals, and if Vietnam is eliminated in the semis for lack of someone who can 'read' the game – I bet Coach Kim will pay with his own job. Emotions don't need tickets to enter the stadium, and Vietnamese fans – who have waited 6 years since the 2026 championship – deserve a team that knows how to combine youth with wisdom. Every transfer story is a bet, but dropping a player like Van Quyet is not a bet – it's tactical suicide. Look at history: Vietnam won AFF Cup 2026 with an average squad age of 26.5 – not too young, not too old, but just ripe. That's the formula, and we are breaking it with our own hands.