List of U22 Vietnam: SLNA player duo regretfully missed the appointment

1. The absence of midfielder Dang Van Lam in this training session of U22 Vietnam is completely understandable. Because for nearly a year now, the player born in 1999 has not been able to put on his shoes to play on the field, due to a persistent injury. "No choice",Coach Park Hang-seohad to temporarily remove the player from Do Luong from the plan of U22 Vietnam in the 2022 U23 Asia qualifiers.

Dang Van Lam once represented U22 Vietnam to answer media interviews. Photo courtesy of Hai Hoang

Don't forget that in the previous training sessions of U22 Vietnam, Dang Van Lam was always highly appreciated by Coach Park. Even the midfielder currently on the roster of SLNA was assigned by the U22 Vietnam coaching staff to take on the role of vice-captain. Through that, we can see part of Dang Van Lam's talent and position at U22 Vietnam, before being injured.

Thus, Dang Van Lam will certainly not be present in the 3 matches of U22 Vietnam in Group I of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, held in Chinese Taipei at the end of October. This is extremely regrettable for Dang Van Lam personally as well as U22 Vietnam. Objectively assessed, the player from the same hometown as Nguyen Cong Phuong (My Son, Do Luong) is a talented central midfielder.

2. Unlike Dang Van Lam's case, Thai Ba Sang's elimination was due to his performance not meeting Coach Park's requirements. In the first phase of V.League 2021, the player from Quynh Luu had 408 minutes on the field. However, what Thai Ba Sang did was quite disappointing, typically the red card he received during SLNA's away match against HAGL in round 2.

Thai Ba Sang is a familiar face in previous gatherings of U22 Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Hai Hoang

As a result of his lackluster performances for SLNA, Thai Ba Sang was "abandoned" by Coach Park Hang-seo in this training session. Don't forget that in the last two training sessions (December 2021 and May 2022), the 1999-born midfielder was also absent. It seems that Coach Park has run out of patience with Thai Ba Sang, while Vietnamese football is not lacking in talented young defenders.

In addition to the familiar face of Bui Hoang Viet Anh, coach Park Hang-seo also has Dang Van Toi, Nguyen Thanh Binh or Doan Anh Viet. Not to mention, in necessary times, 2 versatile players, Doan Van Hau (left-back) and Tran Van Cong (central midfielder) can also take on the position of center-back. Obviously, the Korean strategist has many options for the center-back position, in the familiar 3-4-3 formation.

However, the door of U22 Vietnam has not completely closed for Thai Ba Sang and Dang Van Lam. If coach Park Hang-seo and his team pass the qualifying round, the opportunity for the SLNA duo to participate in the 2022 AFC U23 Championship finals, which will take place in Uzbekistan next year, is huge. In contrast to the case of Dang Van Lam and Thai Ba Sang, their two teammates at SLNA, Mai Sy Hoang and Nguyen Van Viet, were called up by coach Park./.

Thanh Hung