Coach Kim Sang Sik adds naturalized player Nguyen Xuan Son to the Vietnam national team

On the afternoon of December 3, after finishing the training session in Korea and returning home, head coach Kim Sang-sik made an important decision about the personnel of the Vietnam National Team when he called up 3 additional players from Nam Dinh Club to the list to prepare for the Southeast Asian Championship - ASEAN Cup 2024.

Accordingly, 3 players were added to the team in the final stage of preparation for the regional arena, including defender Nguyen Van Vi, striker Nguyen Xuan Son and Nguyen Van Toan. These 3 players will join the team on December 5, after completing their time playing for Nam Dinh Club in the group stage of AFC Champions League Two 2024/25.

Among the three names mentioned above, Nguyen Van Toan is an experienced player with many appearances for the National Team. Nguyen Van Vi was also once called up to the Vietnam National Team and participated in a friendly match with the Afghanistan National Team in early 2022.

With his impressive performance in the Nam Dinh Club shirt recently, Van Vi is considered one of the best left-backs in V.League 2024/25 and completely deserves to be given the opportunity in the Vietnam National Team to participate in the Southeast Asian Championship -2024.

As for Nguyen Xuan Son, the Brazilian-born striker has completed the procedures to acquire Vietnamese nationality and is ready to contribute to the Vietnamese national team. He is also showing great form for Nam Dinh Club and is considered one of the top strikers in the V.League.

The presence of Nguyen Xuan Son is expected to strengthen the attacking power of the Vietnam National Team in the challenging race at the upcoming Southeast Asian Championship - 2024.

Nguyen Xuan Son himself, in his interactions with the media, has expressed his desire to play for the Vietnam National Team. “Playing for the Vietnam National Team is the greatest opportunity of my life. I feel very happy and proud to wear the National Team jersey. I will try my best to contribute to the team’s success,” Nguyen Xuan Son shared.

Coach Kim Sang-sik hopes that with the presence of Xuan Son, the team will have more effective attacking options. The Korean coach also believes in Nguyen Xuan Son's integration into the team, because this player has spent 5 years living in Vietnam and playing in the V.League environment.

Besides, Son still has time to get used to the national team before officially playing after December 20 according to FIFA regulations on residence time for naturalized players.

Before joining the Vietnam national team, Xuan Son had 12 goals after 13 matches in all competitions this season. In the V.League, he has 7 goals, leading the list of top scorers with Tien Linh. Last season, Xuan Son scored 31 goals, accounting for more than half of the total goals of the Nam Dinh Steel Blue in the V.League.

According to the plan, the Vietnam team will continue training in Viet Tri until December 6, then move to Laos to prepare for the opening match in Group B, Southeast Asian Championship 2024. Before leaving, coach Kim Sang Sik will announce the official list of 26 players according to the tournament regulations.

The trio of Nam Dinh Club players will join the Vietnam National Team in Hanoi on December 5, after completing the match with Bangkok United (Thailand) in the final match of Group G of AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 (Asian Cup C2).