Vietnam national team lineup to play Thailand, waiting for surprise from coach Park Hang-seo?

Vietnam National Team has 3 goalkeepers with the best performance in V.League and Thai League at the moment: Dang Van Lam (Muangthong United), Tran Nguyen Manh (SLNA) and Nguyen Van Toan (Hai Phong). Among them, young goalkeeper Van Toan is the one who will find it difficult to compete with his seniors. Hai Phong player has a good height of 1m85, good reflexes but the goalkeeper born in 1999 has no international experience.

Meanwhile, the most experienced player is Nguyen Manh with 24 appearances for the national team and 131 matches for SLNA in the V.League. The captain of SLNA has always been considered a goalkeeper with good reflexes, the number 1 goalkeeper of Vietnamese football when coach Toshiya Miura and coach Huu Thang were still in charge.

Goalkeeper Dang Van Lam. Photo: AFC

The advantage that Nguyen Manh has is good footwork, accurate kicks to launch attacks. However, the only limitation of the Nghe An player is his height of 1m78. After 3 years of not wearing the national team jersey, Nguyen Manh is somewhat inferior to Van Lam but still deserves to be the team's number 2 goalkeeper.

Dang Van Lam, with a height of 1m88 and impressive performances at the AFF Cup 2018 as well as the Asian Cup 2019, deserves to be the number 1 goalkeeper of the national team. In terms of comprehensiveness, the Vietnamese-American goalkeeper has the advantage.

If the Vietnam national team continues to apply the familiar 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation, central defenders Que Ngoc Hai and Do Duy Manh are the two faces that are sure to start. With Dinh Trong absent, coach Park Hang-seo will have to choose one of the names Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Thanh Chung and Huynh Tan Sinh.

Among them, center back Tien Dung has the advantage because he has a lot of experience fighting for U23 Vietnam as well as the Vietnam national team. In addition, the center back Ha Tinh is also the one who plays with Que Ngoc Hai for Viettel Club.

On the left wing, Doan Van Hau is still the brightest face with comprehensive offensive and defensive ability, ideal physique and fitness, and fierce playing style. Meanwhile, on the opposite wing, the right-back position will be the competition of Van Thanh, Van Kien and Trong Hoang.

Compared to HAGL players, Trong Hoang has the advantage in terms of experience, tactical thinking and physical strength. However, Van Thanh's impressive return and good form in V.League 2019 will certainly make the Korean coach consider.

Expected lineup predicted by Vietnamese fans. Photo: VNF

In the upcoming tournament, the midfield of the Vietnamese national team will have an interesting competition with the return of Xuan Truong and Tuan Anh. These two faces have always been the top choices of Coach Miura and Huu Thang before. However, under Coach Park Hang-seo, the Korean coach prioritizes a defensive style of play from a distance and in terms of the ability to control the midfield, both Xuan Truong and Tuan Anh are not as good as the duo Hung Dung and Duc Huy.

With a friendly match, it is possible that the Vietnam team will try out a new central midfield pairing with the combination of Hung Dung - Xuan Truong or Tuan Anh - Duc Huy. Remember, the duo Hung Dung - Xuan Truong was tested at the 2018 Asian Games but was not very successful.

King Cup 2019 match schedule and live stream. Photo: VFF

Among the strikers that Vietnam currently has, Quang Hai, Cong Phuong and Anh Duc are three familiar faces who have contributed to the success of the Vietnam National Team at the AFF Cup 2019 as well as the Asian Cup 2019.

Previously, Quang Hai and Cong Phuong played the role of attacking midfielders, acting as a bridge between the midfield and the forwards, while Anh Duc played as a center forward. However, it is not impossible that coach Park Hang-seo will use Ha Duc Chinh to start the match, leaving Cong Phuong or Van Toan on the bench and bringing him on when needed to decide the match.

King Cup 2019 takes place from June 5 to 8, on FIFA Day. These will be official friendly matches of FIFA category A and will have an impact on the FIFA rankings, deciding the preparation process before the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Therefore, coach Park Hang-seo will certainly be loyal to the squad and playing style that he has worked hard to build over the past time./.

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