Vietnam national football team plans for the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia

Vietnam national football team finished the second qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Asia with the second place in Group G and made a miracle by entering the third qualifying round for the first time. The reporter had an interview with VFF Permanent Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan about the journey of the Vietnam national football team and the upcoming preparation plan.

Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation Tran Quoc Tuan shares about the team's journey in the UAE. Photo: Hai Hoang

Sir, please tell us your feelings about the recent journey of the Vietnamese team?

Permanent Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan:We are extremely proud of all the players of the Vietnam National Team. The team has made great efforts and overcome many difficulties in the final matches of the 2nd qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Asia and achieved a historic goal of participating in the final qualifying round of the tournament for the first time. With this achievement, the team has won a direct ticket to the final round of the Asian Cup 2023. This is an impressive achievement that brings happiness to Vietnamese football players and fans.

It can be said that the VFF and the national team have made very careful preparations, although the training session coincided with the complicated Covid-19 pandemic. The detailed and specific plans in terms of expertise were carefully calculated to overcome the difficulties, due to 18 months of no official international competition, and it is a pleasure to have achieved good results. This is the premise for victory, bringing great joy, and at the same time posing a new challenge when we enter the 3rd qualifying round, a round with the participation of all the top teams in the continent, a prestigious playground for international football. This will be an opportunity for the players to self-evaluate, practice and approach a high level, and hopefully in the coming time we can integrate stably as well as create new developments for Vietnamese football.

According to the schedule, the final qualifying round will begin next September. So what is the preparation plan of the Vietnam National Team, sir?

Permanent Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan:On July 1, the Asian Football Confederation will hold a draw for the 12 best teams in Asia, which will also qualify directly for the Asian Cup finals. The teams will be divided into 2 groups of 6 teams each, playing in a home and away format. This means that from now until mid-2022, 10 rounds of matches will be held to find 4.5 Asian spots to attend the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. This is an extremely busy and challenging schedule, especially when the Covid-19 pandemic in Asia is complicated.

After the draw, the VFF and the team's coaching staff will make a detailed plan to combine domestic tournaments and training trips, in order to best prepare for the matches, with the goal of creating the best conditions for the players to prepare professionally. This is one of the more difficult tasks, because the teams participating in this round all come from countries with strong football in the continent and the world. This requires continued serious preparation. Through this opportunity, the quality of the team as well as each individual will be improved, meeting international standards.

Vietnam national football team has qualified for the third qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Asia for the first time. Photo: Hai Hoang

Sir, it can be said that the success of the Vietnam National Team comes from the careful preparation of the Vietnam Football Federation in all aspects, especially the work of epidemic prevention, helping the players of the Vietnam National Team have good conditions to compete at the club level and be safe when the team gathers. How does this help us before entering the final match?

Permanent Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan:Since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic affected society, including football, the Executive Committee and Standing Committee of the VFF have identified a fundamental factor in the preparation process for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which is to maintain the domestic competition system. Due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic, we cannot expand training trips abroad, so domestic competitions are key. With the support of clubs and members of the federation, tournaments have been held with quality. This is a fundamental factor to support the team to be able to immediately meet the high requirements when concentrating on the national team, helping the team to prepare professionally and physically, overcome difficulties due to 18 months of not competing internationally, and overcome problems in strategy, technique, and tactics. From there, helping our players under the direction of head coach Park Hang-seo and the coaching staff to deploy matches to achieve the set goals. These are impressive and historic successes when they first appeared in the 3rd qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and participated in the Asian Cup finals for the second time.

Since taking over as head coach, Mr. Park Hang-seo has made a number of positive changes that have contributed to significant progress in Vietnamese football, achieving many successes. As a manager, how do you evaluate the changes made by Coach Park Hang-seo?

Permanent Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan:Mr. Park Hang-seo came and worked with Vietnamese football for nearly 4 years and brought a suitable way of playing football, promoting the strength of the Vietnamese team, in which discipline and tactics are put first. Coach Park and his assistants have communicated, guided and effectively applied it to Vietnamese players. Besides, we have a very good generation of players, through the training of clubs in recent times, there has been a change in quality, ensuring professional requirements such as Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Hanoi, Viettel, Song Lam Nghe An... Besides, the investment of the Vietnam Football Federation in the youth teams participating in the Asian qualifiers has been increased, so the players continuously appear in the Asian finals, thereby getting acquainted and competing with the top teams since they were young players such as U16, U19, especially U20 for the first time at the U20 World Cup 2018 in Korea.

With international integration, young players have matured in the process of self-improvement and training, adapting to the top football environment from a young age. This has been inherited and expanded when Coach Park Hang-seo took over the team and introduced methods and perspectives in tactical thinking to overcome physical limitations, improve physical ability and tactical thinking suitable for our playing style, promoting efficiency through achievements in recent times such as U23 Asia runner-up, AFF Suzuki Cup champion or SEA Games gold medal. Yesterday we achieved another historic achievement for Vietnamese football - for the first time being present in the final qualifying round on the continent to find the best representatives in Asia to attend the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Thank you and congratulations again to Vietnam National Team!