The Vietnamese national team changes their kit, hoping for a change of fortune.

During yesterday's team assembly, the press was quite surprised to see a number of players changing their jersey numbers. Perhaps they were hoping for a transformation for themselves and for the Vietnamese national team.

Unsurprisingly, on the first day of training, coach Huu Thang only had the team do light training for just over an hour at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. Four players were allowed to be absent due to club commitments: Van Quyet and Duy Manh of Hanoi FC, and Minh Tuan and Tuan Linh of Quang Ninh FC.

With Công Vinh and Thành Lương absent, many feel a sense of emptiness, as if something significant has been lost, when they look back at those familiar jersey numbers. And rightly so, these two players still have a very strong appeal to the media. Both are respected figures, so it's understandable that many people want to own the jersey numbers that have been associated with this pair of star players for so many years.

The number 9 jersey, previously worn by Cong Vinh, has now been given to striker Van Toan, who appeared rather shy as he stepped onto the training pitch amidst the attention. Recently, Van Toan has made remarkable progress. He has become a key player at HAGL and plays an important role in the Vietnamese national team.

Meanwhile, Le Van Thang is wearing Thanh Luong's number 11 jersey. This jersey is still "quite big" for Van Thang; he needs to work harder.

The biggest surprise was Xuan Truong, who decided to change his jersey to number 7. Xuan Truong was always the best player under Huu Thang's management, so it's unclear what dream he has in mind to choose this new number. Meanwhile, Cong Phuong still chose his familiar number 16.

The Vietnamese national team has put on a new kit.

Coach Huu Thang is still sticking to his old style. This training camp is not overly stressful, but Coach Huu Thang also needs a "makeover," as his coaching skills and tactical prowess are still nothing special, if not disappointing, most clearly demonstrated by the disastrous failure at the 2016 AFF Cup.

Overall, the atmosphere on the field was cheerful. Coach Huu Thang had his players do light exercises, focusing mainly on relaxation. Van Lam was injured and only received treatment with physiotherapist Seabtian Mathias Schoch. Dinh Dong showed signs of muscle strain and had to jog outside the field.

Since the 10th round of the V-League has just finished, many players are showing signs of fatigue and need more time to recover.

"The coach wants the players to relax after playing in the V-League. I felt this training session was quite strenuous and my body felt a bit heavy. Of course, I will try my best along with my teammates."

Regarding his future goals, the HAGL midfielder shared: "Being called up to the national team is an honor for any player. Therefore, I must strive to prove myself and hope to continue to be included when the Vietnam U23 team prepares for the 2017 SEA Games."

Of course, whether or not I get to start in the next match is up to the coach to decide. I myself don't know anything about our opponent, Taiwan," midfielder Hong Duy said.

According to Thethaovanhoa