Xuan Son cannot attend SEA Games 33; Cong Phuong misses the opportunity to play with 'Nghe An Ronaldo'

Hoang Anh Gia Lai adds 4 young players

In preparation for the second phase of V.League 2024/25, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club has called up 4 young players from Long An Club to return to their home team, including central defender Dinh Quang Kiet (born in 2007), striker Nguyen Minh Tam (born in 2005), midfielder Moi Se (born in 2005) and Hoang Minh Tien (born in 2005).

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club aims to rejuvenate the squad. Currently, the mountain town team has many other young players such as central defender Pham Ly Duc (born in 2003), goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien (born in 2003), striker Tran Gia Bao (born in 2008), midfielder Cao Hoang Minh (born in 2003), central defender Nguyen Van Trieu (born in 2003).

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club has many players of the age to participate in the 33rd SEA Games. The mountain town team hopes to create conditions for young players to compete regularly, to serve the U22 Vietnam team to participate in the SEA Games in Thailand at the end of 2025.

After the Lunar New Year holiday, the mountain town team will face The Cong Viettel on February 8.

8 European players "line up" to play with Malaysia against Vietnam

At the ASEAN Cup 2024, the Malaysian team introduced 9 naturalized players, of which 4 names are not of Malaysian origin (from Brazil - 2, Argentina - 1, Scotland - 1).

The naturalization campaign continues to be promoted by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) ahead of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

Accordingly, 8 mixed-race players (whose father or mother is Malaysian) are actively carrying out naturalization procedures.

"Of the 8 newly naturalized players, 4 are waiting for government approval, the remaining 4 are completing their documents," FAM confirmed.

According to the New Straits Times, if everything goes well, all eight European players will be able to make their debut in the first match of Group F of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, which will begin at the end of March.

If we count the 9 naturalized players in the ASEAN Cup campaign and the 3 players before, Malaysia has a "fund" of up to 20 naturalized players to use. This is a big challenge for the opponents in the same group, including the Vietnam team.

The final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup will take place from March 2025 to March 2026. The Malaysian team is determined to surpass Vietnam, Laos, and Nepal to win the only ticket in Group F to the final round of the continent's number 1 tournament. The two most important matches for Malaysia are against Vietnam on June 10 (first leg) and March 31, 2026 (second leg).

Cong Phuong missed the opportunity to play with "Nghe An Ronaldo"

According to VTC News, midfielder Tran Phi Son has been negotiating with Binh Phuoc Club in recent days. However, the player born in 1992 is likely not to sign a contract with this team for various reasons. Up to this point, Binh Phuoc is still trying to convince the player from Ha Tinh but has not had any results.

Phi Son just left Ha Tinh Club a few rounds ago. The former Vietnam national team player wants to have more opportunities to play and moving to a First Division team is a suitable choice. However, this plan may not be successful and some other teams in V.League are ready to invite Phi Son.

Tran Phi Son was born in 1992, and grew up from the Song Lam Nghe An training center. He was promoted to the first team early, winning many glories with Nghe An football. Then, following the call of his senior Le Cong Vinh and teacher Nguyen Huu Thang, Phi Son moved to play for Ho Chi Minh City. During this time, Phi Son played well and at one point returned to the Vietnam national team.

The greatest mark of the midfielder known as "Nghe An Ronaldo" came during the period when coach Toshiya Miura led him.U23 Vietnam, Vietnam Olympic and Vietnam national team. He often has many beautiful two-footed tricks.

Phi Son plays spontaneously, shines at the 2014 ASIAD and plays an important role in the national team at the age of only 23. But his technical style of play also causes this midfielder to suffer many injuries due to many overly aggressive tackles from opposing defenders.

Thus, Nguyen Cong Phuong can only reunite with Tuan Tai and Thanh Binh. He and Phi Son have played together many times at the national team level and in the Ho Chi Minh City shirt. They created many highlights with their performances that attracted the audience.

Xuan Son cannot attend SEA Games 33

The regulation of using only U22 players for men's football at SEA Games 33 was approved on January 26 and will be officially applied.

Accordingly, at the 33rd SEA Games, participating teams will not have slots for players over 22 years old, which has been applied in many previous tournaments.

The organizing committee of the host country Thailand said this decision was made to ensure sustainable development and create opportunities for young talents to compete, while creating a fair playing field for participating teams.

Thus, U22 Vietnam cannot register.Nguyen Xuan Sonas an over-age player for the 2025 SEA Games, even if the naturalized striker recovers from injury.

However, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and coach Kim Sang-sik have proactively developed a plan early on. The U22 Vietnam team has also been given the opportunity to gather, train and participate in an international friendly tournament in China next March.

At the ASEAN Cup 2024, a number of young players with the potential to become key players in the SEA Games squad were also called up, such as goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, midfielder Khuat Van Khang, and striker Bui Vi Hao.

According to the plan, during the FIFA Days next March, U22 Vietnam will participate in the international U22 football tournament in China. The 33rd SEA Games will take place from December 9 to December 20 in Thailand./.