V.League 2022 and the race for a spot in the Vietnamese national team.

After the historic victory ofVietnam National TeamAgainst neighboring China on February 1st, the first day of the Lunar New Year 2022, the national team players were given time off to return home for the holiday. Some even went straight back to their clubs for personal reasons and immediately began training on the third day of the Lunar New Year, preparing for the 2022 V. League season, like HAGL's central defender Huu Tuan. This clearly shows that never before has the story of the national team and the V. League, through the clubs, been so closely intertwined, mutually reinforcing, and elevating each other's level as it is now.

Vietnam national team.

As many know, the 2021 V. League season was canceled due to the pandemic, and this immediately had a major impact on national teams participating in competitions such as the 3rd round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, the 2022 AFF Cup, and the group stage of the U23 Asian Championship… The Vietnamese national team and U23 team are almost entirely "stuck" with familiar key players that coach Park Hang-seo has trusted for the past 3-4 years, with very few significant additions when the need to refresh the squad is more pressing than ever.

Throughout the 7 matches in the third qualifying round, coach Park Hang-seo almost exclusively relied on the same squad, making only unavoidable changes such as suspensions, injuries, or contracting Covid-19. The young players of the Vietnam U23 team also remained largely unchanged, failing to show much promise in the U23 Asian Championship finals after an unimpressive performance in the group stage.

The inclusion of better U23 players by coach Park Hang-seo into the Vietnamese national team is merely a temporary measure, serving as a testing ground. However, it seems only Van Xuan, who played 45 minutes against Australia, and Viet Anh, who played 45 minutes against China recently, are somewhat reliable. The rest, like Thanh Binh, Van Toan, Thanh Minh, etc., based on their performances, clearly show that the path to the national team is still fraught with challenges, and the practical experience of competing in the upcoming V. League 2022 will be a difficult test for these potential talents.

Up until the matches against Australia and especially China in the third round of qualifiers, which is the "refreshing and rebuilding" phase under coach Park Hang-seo, it's conceivable that some of the former key players of the Vietnamese national team have lost motivation or reached their limits and will be forced to rediscover themselves and prove themselves in the V. League if they want to continue being called up to the national team. These former players, if they can regain their motivation, will not only be useful for the two matches against Oman and Japan in March, but more importantly, for the campaign to reclaim the AFF Cup title from rival Thailand at the end of 2022 and defend the 2019 SEA Games gold medal.

The most recent call-up in March will partly show how Park Hang-seo is truly "rejuvenating and rebuilding" the squad. What the Vietnamese national team achieved, and did excellently in the match against China, will certainly be the basis and foundation for building, stabilizing, and supplementing the squad. Key players such as Nguyen Manh, Tien Dung, Thanh Chung, Dinh Trong, Viet Anh, Quang Hai, Hoang Duc, Hung Dung, Tien Linh, Tuan Hai, Van Duc, Hong Duy… will continue to be called up and trusted. Older players like Ngoc Hai, Duy Manh, Trong Hoang, Van Hau, Van Lam… will continue to be tested after overcoming injuries and recovering from Covid-19.

Some key players, such as Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Van Toan, and Xuan Manh, who are out of form or rarely used, will have to work very hard in the V. League if they still hope for a place in the national team, even as... substitutes? Ironically, HAGL stars who performed brilliantly in the 2021 V. League and were called up to the national team have gradually lost their positions and are now warming the bench or only coming on when the game is already decided. In the resounding victory of the Vietnamese national team against China, no one was surprised that only Hong Duy started for the HAGL stars. Xuan Manh, called up late and trying to get a starting spot in various positions against Australia, was then sent home early for the match against China – a rather unwelcome sign considering the upcoming matches will be far more challenging compared to his compatriot Van Duc in the national team?

More than ever, Vietnamese football needs a professional and balanced V.League, one that provides opportunities for every player, especially one that isn't dominated by foreign players in the attacking line and where young players languish waiting for their chance to play. A professional, high-quality V.League means having the "raw material" to "make the best" for the national teams. Not to mention, Vietnamese football needs stars who can truly play abroad, not just those who go abroad and return early as we've seen for so long. We also need Vietnamese players living abroad to be called up to the national teams to fill necessary positions, as the Thais are doing successfully.

All of this creates a healthy, relentless competition to gradually elevate Vietnamese football, and step by step towards securing a ticket to the World Cup in the not-too-distant future. It all begins today, from the "opening day" of the V.League clubs, the day center-back Huu Tuan from the Vietnamese national team at My Dinh Stadium flies straight to Ham Rong to join his teammates for a new season…