Goalkeeper position for the Vietnamese national team: The opportunity falls to Van Viet.
With the current changes in the goalkeeper position within the national team, young goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet of Song Lam Nghe An has a great opportunity to make his debut as the starting goalkeeper in a major tournament.
Currently, in the V.League and First Division, the Vietnamese national team has many good goalkeepers in high form. Among them, goalkeepers such as Philip Nguyen (Hanoi Police), Dang Van Lam (Phu Dong Ninh Binh), Nguyen Dinh Trieu (Hai Phong), Nguyen Van Hoang (Hanoi), Nguyen Van Viet (Song Lam Nghe An), Tran Trung Kien (Hoang Anh Gia Lai), and Trinh Xuan Hoang (Thanh Hoa) all deserve to be included in the national team at this time.
During this training camp, in preparation for the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, Coach Kim Sang-sik The team initially selected three top goalkeepers based on various evaluation criteria: Philip Nguyen, Nguyen Dinh Trieu, and Nguyen Van Viet. However, Philip Nguyen requested to leave the team due to family reasons, while Dinh Trieu suffered a back injury, leading to the subsequent calls-up of goalkeepers Tran Trung Kien and Trinh Xuan Hoang.
Thus, the starting goalkeeper position for the Vietnamese national team is currently a competition between three goalkeepers from Song Lam Nghe An, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, and Dong A Thanh Hoa. Among them, goalkeeper Van Viet of Song Lam Nghe An has the advantage and is considered the strongest, in terms of both form and experience. Under coach Troussier, Van Viet participated in the Vietnamese national team's World Cup 2026 qualifiers alongside senior players Philip Nguyen and Dinh Trieu, and was regularly called up to the Vietnam U23 team.
Van Viet's performance in the Song Lam Nghe An jersey has also been extremely impressive. Promoted by coach Nguyen Huy Hoang from V.League 2022, and starting in V.League 2023, Van Viet has now spent four seasons in Vietnam's top football league. In V.League 2023, he played 9 matches, equivalent to 810 minutes. In V.League 2023/24, Van Viet's form was also very impressive with 24 matches, 2,160 minutes, and in V.League 2024/25 he has played 16 matches, 1,440 minutes, showing consistent playing time and being the player with the most appearances for Song Lam Nghe An.
Standing at 1.81m tall, Van Viet has always been considered an outstanding goalkeeper in the V.League thanks to his reflexes, situational awareness, tenacity, and perfected footwork. In modern football, the ability to use his feet and make counter-attacking passes, coordinating with the attacking line, is one of the mandatory criteria, and Van Viet meets most of those requirements.
In terms of effectiveness, in the V.League 2024/25 season, despite the team's inconsistent defense, Van Viet kept a clean sheet in 5 matches against SHB Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Hai Phong, and Binh Dinh. In the National Cup, Van Viet also kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 victory in the Round of 16 against SHB Da Nang, helping to...Lam River, Nghe AnThey advanced to the quarter-finals of the National Cup this season.
In the two hard-fought draws against Hanoi Police at Hang Day Stadium and Vinh Stadium, Van Viet's performance frustrated the opposing strikers at least five times with his incredible saves.
At just 23 years old, Van Viet still lacks international playing experience and the ability to command the defense. These are two areas where Van Viet needs time to further improve himself in order to become a top goalkeeper in Vietnamese football, both for the national team and as a pillar for Song Lam Nghe An Club. Van Viet has a great chance to be the starting goalkeeper in this training camp, and it's also an opportunity for him to step into the spotlight, improve, and mature.
