The reason why Nguyen Manh was removed from the national team list

(Baonghean.vn) - After the Vietnam Football Federation and head coach Nguyen Huu Thang announced the list of players to be called up to the national team to prepare for the third qualifying round of the 2019 Asian Cup, many people were surprised by the absence of SLNA captain, goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh.

With the goal of winning tickets to the 2019 Asian Cup Finals and creating a playground for young players to mature, thereby best preparing for the 2017 SEA Games, the Vietnam National Team is a combination of experienced players and excellent elements in the U22 Vietnam National Team.

It is no surprise that veteran names such as Dinh Luat, Van Quyet, Trong Hoang, Thanh Trung are all present. And Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Van Toan, Van Khanh, Tuan Tai are also given opportunities.

However, the most notable is the appearance of goalkeeper Phi Minh Long replacing his senior Tran Nguyen Manh. In V.League 2017, the captain of SLNA is not in the best form when he had to pick the ball out of the net 16 times (second only to Can Tho and Long An). Meanwhile, Huynh Tuan Linh and Dang Van Lam played quite stably in the colors of Than Quang Ninh and Hai Phong clubs.

Nguyen Manh's immediate task is to focus on his home club and quickly regain his original form. Photo: Trung Kien

Based on the recruitment criteria and the views of coach Nguyen Huu Thang, the absence of the SLNA goalkeeper is reasonable. Because after the unfortunate mistakes in the second leg of the semi-final of the AFF Cup 2016, the goalkeeper born in 1991 still needs more time to regain balance and focus on the Nghe An team that is struggling in the domestic tournament.

The Nghe An coach explained: "Nguyen Manh was suspended for two matches by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for his actions in the match between Vietnam and Indonesia in the semi-finals of the 2016 AFF Cup. So that is the main reason I did not call him up for this training session."

Nguyen Manh received a red card and was suspended for two matches and fined $1,000 for hitting an Indonesian player in the second leg of the 2016 AFF Cup semi-final.

On the other hand, giving a chance to a talented young goalkeeper like Phi Minh Long when the SEA Games 2017 goal is the top priority of VFF, Nguyen Manh's absence is acceptable even though for a long time, the Nghe An goalkeeper was the number 1 choice of the national team under both coach Miura and coach Huu Thang.

Trung Kien