The Vietnamese national team has plenty of good goalkeepers but lacks skilled strikers.

While the Vietnamese national team's attack is facing the issue of many forwards consistently "failing to score" in the V-League, at the goalpost there is an unusually fierce competition happening. A series of quality goalkeepers like Đặng Văn Lâm, Nguyễn Filip, and Lê Giang are creating a decisive race for the starting spot, providing a "pleasant headache" for coach Kim Sang Sik.

The overall picture of the Vietnamese national team currently shows two very clear extremes. On one side is the attack full of worries as many star forwards are "failing to score" in the V-League, while on the other side is the goalkeeper position described as a "forest of choices" for coach Kim Sang Sik.

Just looking at the list of goalkeepers currently in the sights of the Korean strategist is enough to see the fierce competition.

At least six prominent names include Đặng Văn Lâm (Ninh Bình), Nguyễn Filip (Công an Hà Nội), Nguyễn Đình Triệu (Hải Phòng), Trần Trung Kiên (Hoàng Anh Gia Lai), Nguyễn Văn Việt (Thể Công Viettel), and most recently Lê Giang after the goalkeeper of Công an TP.HCM completed his Vietnamese citizenship.

These are all experienced goalkeepers who have played at national team levels or have many seasons competing inV-League. Not only possessing ideal physique, all might have been noticed by coach Kim Sang Sik.

In the most recent gathering in November 2025,Coach Kim Sang Sikcalled Văn Lâm, Đình Triệu, and Văn Việt. However, that might not repeat in this month's gathering to prepare for two matches against Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Among the 3/6 goalkeepers mentioned above, Nguyễn Filip, Văn Việt, and Văn Lâm are three goalkeepers representing three clubs leading the V-League. Meanwhile,Lê Giangand Đình Triệu are also playing for two clubs ranked 5th and 6th respectively, Công an TP.HCM and Hải Phòng. Trung Kiên faces continuous pressure at the club ranked 11th, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, which is fighting to avoid relegation.

The overall quality of the goalkeepers the Vietnamese national team possesses is very high. Besides performance factors, coach Kim Sang Sik might need additional criteria of suitability and luck accompanying him.

Having many quality goalkeepers helps him be more flexible in choosing the right goalkeeper for each opponent and each tactical system.

The reassurance at the goalpost is compensating for the attack. These two positions differ quite significantly when looking at the players' performances in the V-League.

Most forwards like Tiến Linh, Tuấn Hải, or young faces do not have good scoring form at their clubs. Xuân Son "ended his drought" with his first goal in V-League in round 14, but to score one goal, the Nam Định striker also missed dozens of chances.

That is also why coach Kim Sang Sik likely needs to seek new solutions, including giving opportunities to the player exploding in form for Hanoi FC, Hoàng Hên. The contrast between the two lines shows an interesting reality of Vietnamese football currently.