Waiting for the "star" to shine.

(Baonghean) - According to the recently revealed preliminary list of the Vietnamese Olympic team, SLNA has two players officially called up by coach Miura to prepare for the 2016 U23 Asian Championship qualifiers: defender Que Ngoc Hai and striker Ho Tuan Tai.

Ho Tuan Tai in the SLNA first team jersey. (Image from the internet)

Besides the two young stars currently showing good form from the Song Lam football academy, the list also includes several familiar names who have performed excellently in domestic youth tournaments and are playing quite well in the past 7 rounds of the V.League, such as: Phi Minh Long, Do Duy Manh (HN.T&T); Huy Toan, Ngoc Thang (SHB.DN); Huynh Tan Tai (GDT.LA); Bui Tien Dung (Viettel); Nguyen Thanh Hien (Dong Thap); Nguyen Hoai Anh (Than Quang Ninh)... As expected, HAGL Club is the team contributing the most players with nearly 10 names such as: Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Van Tien, Van Thanh, Van Toan, Duc Luong,...

The reason why HAGL's young players have consistently failed in recent V. League rounds but are still called up to the Olympic team by coach Miura is because the Japanese coach doesn't have many other options. According to the regulations of the Asian Football Confederation, the 2016 AFC U23 Championship finals have an age limit of players born in 1993 or later; therefore, the national teams competing in the 2015 qualifying rounds must be U22 squads. Therefore, a number of players born in 1992 who performed very well in the AFF Suzuki Cup for the Vietnamese national team, in the 2014 Thanh Nien Newspaper International U21 Tournament, and are continuing to shine in the 2015 V.League cannot participate, such as: Ngo Hoang Thinh, Tran Phi Son, Nguyen Manh Hung (SLNA), Nguyen Huy Hung (Hanoi FC), Quach Tan (SHB Da Nang), Minh Tung, Mac Hong Quan (Than Quang Ninh)... However, these players born in 1992 could still be called up by Coach Miura to the U23 team in the next training camp to participate in the 28th SEA Games held in Singapore in June 2015.

Therefore, it is highly likely that two SLNA players, Que Ngoc Hai and Ho Tuan Tai, will occupy the two starting spots in the Vietnam U22 team. Besides Que Ngoc Hai, who was frequently used by coach Miura in the AFF Suzuki Cup, striker Ho Tuan Tai is a type of player highly favored by the Japanese coach. Tuan Tai possesses both speed and strength, and is very adept at seizing scoring opportunities. Compared to Van Toan of HAGL and other strikers, Ho Tuan Tai has many superior advantages.

According to the plan, after the end of the 8th round of the V. League, the players will have a few days off for Tet (Lunar New Year) and then must travel to Hanoi to join the Vietnamese Olympic team on February 24th. During the training period, Coach Miura will have the Vietnamese Olympic team play three friendly matches: against the Indonesian Olympic team (March 9th at My Dinh Stadium - Hanoi), against the Uzbekistani Olympic team (March 14th at Thong Nhat Stadium - Ho Chi Minh City); Before heading to Malaysia for the group stage of the U23 Asian Championship, the Vietnamese Olympic team will play a friendly match against the Thai Olympic team.

In the 2016 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers (held from March 23-31), the Vietnamese Olympic team was drawn into the same group as Macau (China), Japan, and host nation Malaysia. The top team in the group would qualify directly for the finals, while the second-placed team would have to compete with nine other second-placed teams from nine other groups for one of the five qualifying spots (based on points and tie-breaking criteria).

It can be said that, against a strong opponent like Japan and the home advantage of Malaysia, the chances of the Vietnamese Olympic team qualifying for the U23 Asian Championship are not high, but this will be a very important rehearsal for the U23 Vietnam squad participating in the 28th SEA Games in June in Singapore. If they want to continue to secure a place in the U23 team for the SEA Games, Ho Tuan Tai, as well as the young HAGL players Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong… must shine, or at least make a mark to build confidence with coach Miura in the upcoming friendly matches.

Hoang Hao