Vietnam national team: Who will be the one to leave?

Currently, the Vietnamese national team's roster consists of 25 players: 3 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 6 midfielders, and 8 forwards. For a coach who always prioritizes caution like Park Hang Seo, the personnel in the goalkeeper and midfield positions are considered reasonable. It's unlikely that the South Korean strategist will make any changes to the goalkeeper or midfield positions.

Therefore, the defense and attack will be the areas where coach Park Hang Seo will focus his efforts as he narrows down the Vietnamese national team's roster to 23 players. Objectively speaking, Thanh Hao or Xuan Hung in defense and Tien Linh in attack are at the highest risk of being sent home. Simply put, these three players are all more or less inferior to their teammates/"opponents".

Besides Coach Park Hang Seo's preferred trio of Dinh Trong, Tien Dung, and Duy Manh, the central defensive pairing of Thanh Hao and Xuan Hung also struggles to compete with Ngoc Hai and Van Hau. It's obvious that Ngoc Hai is of a much higher caliber when compared to the two players from Than Quang Ninh and FLC Thanh Hoa.

Thanh Hào is likely to be dropped from the Vietnam national team by coach Park Hang Seo. Photo: Internet

Compared to Van Hau, Thanh Hao and Xuan Hung are less versatile. In fact, the Hanoi FC player's preferred position is left back. However, Van Hau can also play as a center back and central midfielder if needed. And recently, coach Park Hang Seo has experimented with Van Hau in other positions on several occasions, yielding positive results.

Therefore, Thanh Hao and Xuan Hung will have to fight a "winner takes all" battle for the honor of participating in the 2018 AFF Cup with the Vietnamese national team. Who will win remains to be seen until November 7th, as the Thanh Hao - Xuan Hung match is a battle between two evenly matched opponents.

Tien Linh's situation is similar to that of his two teammates mentioned above. Since joining the training camp, the B.Binh Duong player hasn't shown much. The striker born in 1997 has appeared lost and ineffective in the Vietnamese national team's attack in recent friendly matches. It seems that the Vietnamese national team jersey is still "too big" for Tien Linh.

The risk of Tien Linh missing the 2018 AFF Cup is quite clear. Photo: Internet

Another reason to believe Tien Linh will not be joining Coach Park Hang Seo's team in conquering the 2018 AFF Cup is that the striker recently suffered an injury. In the match against Seoul FC on October 25th, the top scorer of the 2018 V.League suffered a fairly serious injury (groin muscle strain) after a fierce challenge with an opposing player.

It's highly likely that Tien Linh won't fully recover from his injury in time, and even if he does, it will be difficult for him to regain his peak form, as the 2018 AFF Cup is set to officially begin in just over a week. It's highly probable that Coach Park Hang Seo will not risk the career of a player who has just turned 21.

Unless something unexpected happens, the next two players to be eliminated will likely be among the three names already mentioned: Thanh Hào, Xuân Hưng, and Tiến Linh.