Who will replace Thanh Luong in the Vietnam national team?

Over the past 8 years since being called up by coach Calisto to the national team to prepare for the AFF Cup 2008, Thanh Luong with his skillful personal technique and tricky playing style has almost been the default left midfielder position of the Vietnamese team through the ages.

Pham Thanh Luong announced his retirement from the national team after the failure at the AFF Cup 2016. Screenshot.

Thanh Luong's stable performance at a high level has unintentionally made it almost impossible for other left wingers to participate in the Vietnam national team or if they do, they are just substitutes to make up the group. Now, with Luong "di" leaving the national team after the AFF Cup 2016, opportunities are becoming more open than ever for left wingers in Vietnamese football. Here are 3 potential candidates who can replace Thanh Luong in this position.

1. Dinh Thanh Trung

Dinh Thanh Trung has the opportunity to replace Thanh Luong's position in the National team.

Same age as Thanh Luong (even 8 months older) but Thanh Trung's number of appearances for the national team is less than 1/3 of his peer. The recent AFF Cup was the only tournament where Thanh Trung started more than Thanh Luong (Thanh Trung: 3 matches and Thanh Luong: 2 matches).

The captain of Quang Nam FC has been playing very consistently in the last 2 seasons, both in his ability to create goals and directly score goals. Not only that, Thanh Trung is also considered to be the player with the best free kick ability of the current Vietnam team. If he continues to maintain his current form, the position that Thanh Luong left in the Vietnam team will most likely be taken over by Thanh Trung.

2. Le Quoc Phuong

Le Quoc Phuong (No. 19).

Never been called up to the national team (although he was called up to the U19 and U21 teams before), but with what he has shown in the last 2-3 seasons, Quoc Phuong deserves to be given the opportunity. Like Thanh Luong, Quoc Phuong is known for his very unique left foot. Possessing a good basic technical foundation, this midfielder from Thanh Hoa has created many great goals with his special left foot.

Choosing the right position, kicking the ball very accurately with great force, Quoc Phuong makes the goalkeepers not know where to look. Not only that, this small midfielder also often has very smart passes for his teammates. If he improves his physical strength and ability to compete, Quoc Phuong will be a good choice on the left wing of the Vietnam team in the "post-Thanh Luong" period.

3. Nguyen Hoang Quoc Chi

Quoc Chi could be a breakthrough player in the Vietnamese national team in the future.

Same age as Quoc Phuong (born in 1991), also playing in the left wing position is Nguyen Hoang Quoc Chi. In the coastal city team's shirt, Quoc Chi is nicknamed "The man without lungs" thanks to his abundant physical strength and ability to move continuously across the field for 90 minutes. Starting from the left wing back position, but with his technical handling and brave breakthrough ability, Quoc Chi was promoted to the left midfielder position and he completed this role excellently thanks to his good speed and sharp tactical vision.

In the last 2 seasons, Quoc Chi's many technical breakthroughs have made many opposing defenses crazy and become an important strategic card of Coach Vo Dinh Tan. Not only that, Quoc Chi also has the ability to shoot with both feet and has the ability to seize opportunities quite well. The midfielder currently playing for Khanh Hoa is very likely to create new features for the Vietnam national team in the near future if called up.

According to Bongda