Goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet: Playing in V.League helps me feel more confident when joining U23 Vietnam

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team are making final preparations for the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship taking place in Thailand from August 17 to 26.

Due to being busy with Song Lam Nghe An Club competing in V.League, on the afternoon of August 9, goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet had his first training session with U23 Vietnam.

Speaking to the media, the goalkeeper from Nghe An said: "In the past, I was called up to the Vietnam U15 and U16 teams and most recently was on the list of players to gather for the FIFA Days in June, summoned by coach Troussier.

This is the first time I have had the opportunity to work with coach Hoang Anh Tuan. Each coach always has his own philosophy and we players must try to practice and adapt as best as possible so that when we enter the field, we can meet the correct playing style and tactical intentions of the coaching staff."

2023 is the first season Nguyen Van Viet stands in the goal of Song Lam Nghe An in the V.League arena. Nguyen Van Viet believes that this is the motivation to help him practice harder and compete better to contribute to the Club and the National Teams.

"In the 2023 season, I played 9 times in the V.League. That gave me the opportunity to compete, gain experience and be much more confident when I was called up to the U23 Vietnam team.

The match I felt I played best was the away match against Hanoi Police at Hang Day Stadium in round 9 of phase 1. In that match, Song Lam Nghe An lost 1-2 but I was also recognized for my good performance" - Van Viet shared.

Sharing more about his journey of pursuing his passion for football since he was a young boy, Nguyen Van Viet said that in his early days he played as a striker: "But later I became attached to the goalkeeper position, stuck with the goal for a long time and asserted myself.

Nghe An has many good goalkeepers from the past to the present. In my opinion, Nguyen Manh is an ideal model to follow. Nguyen Manh is not tall but his playing style is very modern, I watch and learn a lot."

When asked about the Vietnamese women's team's historic 2023 Women's World Cup, the current generation of U23 players are the factors expected to help Vietnamese football make the dream of participating in the World Cup come true in 2026 or further in 2030. At the age of 21 and entering its prime in the future, does Van Viet think he will be able to participate in the World Cup with his teammates? The U23 Vietnam goalkeeper expressed:

"Participating in the World Cup is every player's dream. But we are still young and the first thing we need to do is try to practice and compete well before we can think about further goals. When we make an effort and try every day, I believe we will have good results."

U23 Vietnam entered the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 tournament as defending champions, but the VFF did not put too much pressure on the team's performance. However, goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet personally showed his determination to help the team successfully defend the championship.

"In my opinion, U23 Thailand and U23 Indonesia are strong opponents in the region. U23 Vietnam will try to achieve the best results," goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet expressed his determination.

The 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship hosted by Thailand will take place from August 17 to August 26, 2023. According to the draw results, the Vietnam U23 team is in Group C with the Philippines U23 team and Laos U23 team.

To prepare for this tournament, the Vietnam U23 team has been training at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center since July 29. According to the plan, the team will leave for Thailand from August 14 to train and complete the final preparations.

Notably, before officially entering the journey at the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, the team will have a friendly match as a rehearsal with a very high-quality "blue team", the Bahrain U23 team. This match will take place on August 15 in Thailand.