Vietnam go face Chinese Taipei for international friendly on Wednesday, with di home side hungry to answer di disappointment of losing dia FIFA ASEAN Cup crown.
Vietnam don win di ASEAN Cup four times and dem be two-time defending champions before dis loss. But dis time dem no fit defend am. Dem lose 1-0 to Malaysia for di bronze-medal match. Before dat, a 2-1 defeat to Thailand two games earlier don cost dem place for final. Di two results leave coach Kim Sang-Sik with plenty to think about, especially after Vietnam had gone 33 games unbeaten from September 2024. Around those defeats, Vietnam still beat Pakistan 4-2.
Chinese Taipei go enter di match as clear underdogs. Dem dey 176th for FIFA World Rankings and dem dey on eight-match losing run since 2024. Wednesday game na dia first since March, when Sri Lanka beat dem 3-1. Since September 2025, across five matches, Chinese Taipei don concede 20 goals, with games against Indonesia, Thailand and Turkmenistan inside dat period. Vietnam dey 99th for di rankings.
Di two sides no meet since a 1-1 friendly draw in March 2017. Vietnam win di previous meetings in 2015 and 2016, but Chinese Taipei score in all three contests.
Vietnam squad get plenty new faces. Apart from goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang, di other 10 players from Vietnam last starting XI no dey di squad, so Kim Sang-Sik starting lineup no dey clear. Di selection na based on players wey don already get caps. Defender Nguyen Thanh Chung, with 44 appearances, likely to start, while Nguyen Dinh Bac get 10 goals from 26 games for di country. Eleven uncapped players dey di squad.
Chinese Taipei coach Matt Ross don select all 11 players wey start dia last match in March. Captain Chen Po-liang go earn his 99th cap if e start. Ivory Coast-born Ange Kouame, with six goals from 17 games, dey in line to start as di number 10.
Match analysis of recent form and player stats put Vietnam as strong favourites. E give Vietnam 85.72% chance to win, draw 8.94% and Chinese Taipei win 5.33%. Di most likely scoreline na 3-0 with 10.89% probability, followed by 2-0 at 9.13% and 1-0 at 6.95%. Di likeliest draw na 1-1 at 4.31%, while Chinese Taipei likeliest win na 0-1 at 2.33%.
