Center back Bui Tien Dung was unexpectedly called up to the national team.
(Baonghean.vn) - Coach Philippe Troussier has unexpectedly called up central defender Bui Tien Dung to the Vietnam national team to prepare for two matches in November 2023 in the second qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Asia.
On November 2, coach Philippe Troussier announced the list of 32 players called up to prepare for the two matches against the Philippines (November 16) and Iraq (November 21) in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia. However, today (November 6), the captain of the Vietnamese team unexpectedly called up central defender Bui Tien Dung.
The return of Bui Tien Dung is expected to help coach Philippe Troussier have more options to choose from, in the context of the team's defense suffering from a loss of force. The latest case is Do Duy Manh missing the team in this training session due to an unfortunate injury before the training session.
In the recent round 3 of V-League 2023/2024, central defender Bui Tien Dung also scored, thereby helping Viettel FC have a minimal 1-0 victory over Hong Linh Ha Tinh.
According to plan, the Vietnamese team will have a week to practice before reducing the list to 28 players and moving to the Philippines on the morning of November 13.
The team is expected to have 3 more training sessions in the Philippines before finalizing the list of 23 players for the match against the host team, taking place on November 16. This is also the opening match of the Vietnamese team in Group F, the second qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Asia.
After the match with the Philippines, coach Philippe Troussier and his team will return to Hanoi to prepare for the match against Iraq, which will take place at My Dinh Stadium on the evening of November 21./.
