Vietnam National Team List: Still "offside" with Coach Park
(Baonghean.vn) - Basically, Vietnamese experts and media have correctly identified 80% of the list of national players that Mr. Park has called up to prepare for the AFF Cup 2018. However, every time, the Korean coach still gives football fans a few "offside" positions.
Familiar faces
Coach Park Hang-seo and VFF have announced the list of 30 players called up to the Vietnam national team to prepare for the AFF Cup 2018. Accordingly, Hanoi is still the club that contributes the largest number of players with 8 names including: Dinh Trong, Quang Hai, Duy Manh, Van Hau, Van Quyet, Van Thanh, Duc Huy, Hung Dung.
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| Van Quyet and 7 teammates were called up to the national team. Photo: Internet |
HAGL has 5 names called up this time including: Xuan Truong, Minh Vuong, Van Toan, Cong Phuong and Hong Duy. Defender Van Thanh is unable to participate due to a serious injury. FLC Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam are two clubs with 3 players participating. SLNA, Sanna Khanh Hoa and B.Binh Duong each contribute 2 players. The remaining teams, Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, SHB Da Nang, T.Quang Ninh, Viettel each contribute 1 player.
Thus, Mr. Park has called up the troops of 12 clubs including the First Division and V-League. The fact that familiar names participated in two victories in the final round of U23 Asia 2018 and ASIAD 18 such as Duy Manh, Quang Hai, Van Quyet, Hung Dung, Anh Duc were called up is not surprising.
Some concerns
4 players are joining the national team for the first time such as Pham Van Thanh (Hanoi FC), Luc Xuan Hung (Thanh Hoa FC), Pham Van Cuong (Quang Nam FC), Nguyen Hoang Quoc Chi (Khanh Hoa FC). Unlike the rumors, goalkeeper Tuan Manh of S.Khanh Hoa is still on the list and the 4th player is goalkeeper Pham Van Cuong (Quang Nam FC) and not Van Hoang (Sai Gon) who has only played 1 match this season.
While both full-backs Van Thanh and Xuan Manh were injured and not named, new player Dinh Viet Tu of Nam Dinh had a bright chance when he was present this time. The right-back of the team from Thanh Nam has a knack for free kicks with an unpleasant trajectory. With a height of 1.80m, this Nam Dinh player has good aerial ability and sticks to the opponent quite tenaciously.
The next surprise is the appearance of Pham Van Thanh (Hanoi FC) in the position of defender. In fact, this player born in 1994 plays quite versatilely. In the Hanoi FC shirt, Van Thanh started as a striker, but could not compete with foreign players so he moved back to play defender. Perhaps, Mr. Park likes this versatility because, after all, playing defender, Van Thanh is only average.
In addition to some players who are unfortunately absent, including Vu Van Thanh and Xuan Manh (injured), the fact that Mr. Park did not call up Ngo Hoang Thinh (Thanh Hoa Club) also made the public wonder. This midfielder from Nghe An even decided to postpone his wedding after the AFF Cup 2018 to focus on the national team.
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| The absence of midfielder Hoang Thinh is considered regrettable. Photo: Internet |
Hoang Thinh's current form is quite high, even rated much better than some players called to the same position this time. Hoang Thinh is a player with good physical strength and physique, plays enthusiastically, and is not afraid of collisions.
The Vietnamese team will gather on October 11 in Hanoi. Some players are busy competing in the play-offs for tickets to the V.League 2019 and the National Cup 2018 finals and will gather later. The team will have a few days of training in Hanoi before leaving for Korea for a 2-week training session, from October 16 to October 30. Due to the change in the V-League schedule, Mr. Park also had to calculate the players' peak performance accordingly.
During their 16-day stay in Korea, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will have three friendly matches. The opponents of the Vietnamese team are Incheon United, Seoul and the second division team Seoul E-Land FC. The three matches will take place on October 22, October 25 and October 29 at the Paju center, which have been prepared quite carefully and in detail.
As always, there will be mixed opinions when calling up the national team, but with what coach Park Hang-seo did well at the 2018 U23 Asian Cup finals and the 18th ASIAD, fans have faith in him. Hopefully the team will have good results at the 2018 AFF Cup./.
