Who will coach Park Hang-seo choose for the goalkeeper position of the Vietnamese national team?

Concerns on and off the pitch

Before the controversy of goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong about livestreaming on social networks, on one hand, VFF and Coach Park had a private meeting with this goalkeeper and decided to call up goalkeeper Pham Van Cuong of Ho Chi Minh City Club. This is the first time the Vietnam national team has called up 5 goalkeepers, in addition to the injuries of Van Lam and Van Toan, which are probably related to the recent controversy of the number 1 position Tan Truong.

In theory, livestreaming is a personal freedom, but most professional players in the world limit the use of social networks to argue with fans to focus on professional work. So recently, the leaders of VFF andCoach Park Hang-seoworked, reminded Tan Truong to limit this, not to affect the expertise. When Dang Van Lam was injured, coach Park gave the goalkeeper of Hanoi Club to play 4 out of the last 6 matches of the Vietnam National Team.

Goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh.

In the 4 matches assigned as goalkeeper for the Vietnam national team, Tan Truong conceded 8 goals, an average of 2 goals/match. In addition to the goals conceded from the penalty spot, despite being 1.89m tall, Tan Truong still had to pick the ball out of the net, mainly from high balls. The goalkeeper from Dong Thap is not very good at choosing his position, so he is at a disadvantage when he comes out of the goal.

The two names Pham Van Cuong (HCMC Club) and Quan Van Chuan (Phu Tho) have never even worn gloves to stand in the national team's goal. Goalkeeper Pham Van Cuong, 31, of HCMC Club has been called up to the national team 3 times and helped Quang Nam win the 2017 V.League championship, but his international experience is still zero. Goalkeeper Nguyen Van Hoang (SLNA) was sent by Coach Park to play against Oman, but after the 3-1 loss, this goalkeeper had to return to his familiar reserve position.

Among the current 5 goalkeepers of the national team, 29-year-old goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh is considered the most experienced after Bui Tan Truong. However, the Viettel Club goalkeeper has not been a main goalkeeper for 5 years, the last time he played for the national team was on March 19, 2016. The fact that goalkeeper Nguyen Manh has received a red card and his ability to play with his feet is not his strong point has caused the number of times he has played for the national team to stop at 17. Many times, Nguyen Manh was not even called up to the national team by coach Park.

Who will the coaching staff choose?

Unlike the AFF Cup 2018, in addition to goalkeeper Van Lam, the two reserve goalkeepers Tuan Manh and Tien Dung are both highly trusted by the coaching staff. Compared to the list of 23 players participating in the AFF Cup 2018, this time coach Park Hang-seo has lost more than half of the official squad including: goalkeeper Van Lam; defender Van Hau; midfielders Hung Dung, Trong Hoang, Huy Hung and striker Van Quyet. It seems that coach Park and the team's coaching staff have a satisfactory backup plan besides goalkeeper Van Lam's position.

Who will the coaching staff choose?

According to the AFF Cup 2018 Regulations, the Vietnam national team's coaching staff must submit a preliminary list of 30 players to participate in the AFF Cup by November 24th. Thus, Coach Park must cross out 2 of the 5 names that the article just analyzed above. It seems difficult to find a name that can create absolute trust for fans in an important tournament of the Vietnam national team.

If we want to become the third team in Southeast Asia to successfully defend the AFF Cup, the goalkeeper position must be absolutely assured by his teammates. In the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, goalkeeper Nguyen Manh has not been given a chance even though he and Que Ngoc Hai used to work very well together for Viettel. Should Coach Park and the team's coaching staff give this Nghe An goalkeeper a chance this time?