Why did Coach Park "overlook" Van Quyet and prioritize U23 players?
Van Quyet was the captain of the Vietnamese national team in the most recent training camp, but was not included in this one. However, coach Park Hang Seo's decision to give opportunities to U23 Vietnamese players is considered reasonable, while Van Quyet's form is difficult to assess at this time.
As expected, coach Park Hang Seo has called up a number of U23 Vietnam players to the senior Vietnam national team in preparation for the match against Jordan on March 27th. Accordingly, 14 U23 Vietnam players have been recalled after the team disbanded following the 2018 AFC U23 Championship.
Among the players not included in the Vietnam U23 squad, coach Park Hang Seo called up experienced players such as midfielders Dinh Thanh Trung (Quang Nam), Vu Minh Tuan (Thanh Hoa), veteran Nguyen Anh Duc (Binh Duong, 33 years old), and center-back Lam Anh Quang (SHB Da Nang).
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Van Quyet is not present at this training camp of the Vietnamese national team. |
In fact, the South Korean coach had a reason for not calling Van Quyet up to the national team this time. The Hanoi FC midfielder recently received a suspension from the VFF Disciplinary Committee. He had to sit out the first two matches of the 2018 season and was only allowed to play in the third round of the V-League on April 5th against HA Gia Lai FC.
Unable to assess Van Quyet's form while he was out of action, Coach Park Hang Seo decided to leave him at his club and, depending on the situation, call him up for future training camps. Without Van Quyet, Coach Park Hang Seo called up several new faces such as Khac Ngoc and Anh Quang…
In the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnamese national team secured their place early with 9 points, finishing second behind Jordan (11 points). Therefore, the match against Jordan on March 27th will be decisive in determining the winner of Group C.
On March 23rd, the entire Vietnamese national team will gather in Hanoi before traveling 10,000 kilometers to Jordan the following day. One day prior, players from Hanoi FC and HA Gia Lai will also join the training camp early due to the postponement of their V-League Round 3 matches because of the national mourning period for former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.
