Asian Cup 2019 Qualifiers: Too difficult for Huu Thang!
(Baonghean.vn) - Lack of players, injuries, and limited time to assemble the squad are the real difficulties that Coach Huu Thang is facing during the training camp to prepare for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers. Coach Huu Thang and his team only have two days to practice for the friendly match with Taiwan (6 p.m. today, March 22) in the context of a weak and lacking squad.
The training camp for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers did not include three veterans such as Cong Vinh, Thanh Luong, and Dinh Luat because they had retired from the national team. While Hong Duy, Tuan Tai, and Van Khanh have more or less played for the youth teams, A Hoang and center-back Dinh Khuong are brand new faces. In total, coach Huu Thang has given 11 U22 players the opportunity to train with the Vietnamese national team.
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| “My young players like Xuan Truong and other players are capable of taking on and conquering the Vietnam national team. On the other hand, the team still has players like Trong Hoang and Dinh Thanh Trung” - Coach Huu Thang said at the press conference. |
In addition, the players of Hanoi FC and Than Quang Ninh who had to play late in round 9 of V-League will definitely be absent, including goalkeeper Tuan Linh, Vu Minh Tuan (Than Quang Ninh) and Van Quyet, Duy Manh (Hanoi). In addition, goalkeeper number 2 Van Lam and central defender Dinh Dong were injured and could not recover in time, which will cause the team to be short of players.
In addition to the 6 names that will definitely not be on the field for this friendly match, the remaining players are also having many problems with their performance and mentality. If the strikers of HAGL, Cong Phuong and Van Toan, have just experienced 3 losses in the V-League and their strikers have been continuously silent, Van Thang (Hai Phong) and Tuan Tai (SLNA) are languishing on the bench.
The central defender duo Ngoc Hai and Van Khanh, who are expected to start in the friendly match against Taiwan, must also overcome the inferiority complex of being in the top 3 worst defenses of V-League 2017. Perhaps the midfield is the line that coach Huu Thang is most confident in because besides the return of Xuan Truong from Gangwon (Korea), he still has very promising names such as Huy Hung, Thanh Trung, Trong Hoang, Hong Duy.
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| Midfielder Xuan Truong is the most anticipated name in this training session. Photo: An Thanh. |
Playing at Hang Day Stadium, with its poor pitch, Coach Huu Thang also has to avoid unfortunate injuries that could cause the loss of players. Remember, Hang Day Stadium is the home ground of Hanoi FC, which was recently ruled by AFC to not meet international standards to host the AFC Cup group stage.
Not to mention, after playing a friendly match on natural grass, the Vietnamese team will go to the neutral Republican Central Stadium (Tajiskistan) to play on artificial turf against the Afghan team in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers. It is also strange that the national team was denied a friendly match at My Dinh Stadium because the stadium management board had rented it out for a music show (!?).
Perhaps that is why Coach Huu Thang did not set a goal of winning or losing with his students in this afternoon's match. For him, this is simply a match to assemble the team. On the other side, Mr. Kazuo Kuroda has also only been in charge of Taiwan for 5 months and like Coach Huu Thang, he considers the friendly match in Vietnam the best opportunity to prepare for the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
“I know that the Vietnamese team is of a higher level than Chinese Taipei. We met Vietnam in Hanoi a year ago. You have a very young and very good squad,” said Mr. Kazuo Kuroda very modestly.
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