Two young SLNA players are ready to head towards the 2022 AFC U23 Qualifiers

Mai Sy Hoang and Nguyen Van Viet ofLam River Nghe AnBoth of these players were called up by coach Park Hang-seo in recent U22 Vietnam gatherings.

Mai Sy Hoang is a player who has been nailed on the left wing at all SLNA youth levels from the past until now. From the U team to the SLNA first team and U19 orU22 Vietnam, Hoang both play on the left wing. Besides, this young player from Nghe An also possesses powerful free kicks.

Meanwhile, Van Viet is also not a strange name. He was the vice-captain of U22 Vietnam in the early 2020 training session. With Van Viet, Mr. Park and his colleagues also added another option for U22 Vietnam, which is to move Nguyen Van Viet from the central midfielder position to the left back position. Therefore, if in the 2 friendly matches with the Vietnam National Team, Van Viet is on the left wing, it is not a surprise.

The time from now until the 2022 U23 Asian qualifiers is not far away. If they actively practice and perform well in their roles, these young stars from Nghe An can completely take the main position in U22 Vietnam.

U22 had their first training session to prepare for the 2022 AFC U23 Qualifiers. Photo: Hai Hoang

Due to the complicated developments of the epidemic, the team members have been present at the gathering location earlier on different days since August 5, depending on the travel conditions from the localities to Hanoi. However, there are still 2 players on the list of summoned players who cannot participate: defender Lieu Quang Vinh and midfielder Le Van Do of SHB Da Nang.

In order to ensure safety in preventing and combating the COVID-19 epidemic, the entire team was arranged to live and practice according to the principle of a "closed bubble" at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. Due to the time coinciding with the Vietnam National Team's training session, according to the assignment of head coach Park Hang-seo, assistant Kim Han-yoon continued to coordinate with his colleagues in the coaching staff to implement the training plan for the National Team.

Assistant Kim Han-yoon continues to be assigned by coach Park Hang-seo to direct U22 Vietnam's training. Photo: Hai Hoang

With most of the players called up being those who have gone through recent training sessions, the team has shown that they have adapted very quickly to the new routine. In the first phase of the training program, the coaching staff also mainly focused on strengthening the physical foundation of the players.

Mai Sy Hoang and Nguyen Van Viet of SLNA are practicing very hard to be able to secure a starting position in U22 Vietnam. Photo: Hai Hoang

InAFC U23 Championship 2022 Qualifiers, Vietnam U23 team is in Group I with Myanmar, Hong Kong China and host Chinese Taipei. However, due to the withdrawal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from the 2022 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers, the AFC decided to adjust the number of teams participating in Group K by drawing lots to transfer one team from the remaining 4 groups of the East Asia region, including groups G, H, I and J to Group K.

The players have gone through previous training sessions so they quickly adapted to the exercises. Photo: Hai Hoang

With the above adjustment decision of AFC, the group of U23 Vietnam is completely capable of having 3 teams left: Vietnam, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei or Vietnam, Hong Kong China, Chinese Taipei.

The draw ceremony to transfer 1 team to group K will be conducted by AFC at 14:00 (Vietnam time) today (August 11) and will be broadcast live on The AFC Hub youtube channel.