Vietnamese players reunite in preparation for World Cup qualifiers in November

The national football team gathered on October 25 to prepare for their upcoming two clashes against strong visitors Japan and Saudi Arabia in the final round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in November.

Vietnamese players in action during a training camp. (Photo: Vietnam Football Federation)
Vietnamese players in action during a training camp. (Photo: Vietnam Football Federation)

The two games will take place at Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium on November 11 and five days later, respectively, while the stadium will be open to welcome home fans at 30% of its capacity.

Compared to the list prepared for the two matches against China and Oman in October, there is not much change in the gathering this time.

Besides those who participated in the last two away matches, the team will welcome back goalkeeper Nguyen Van Hoang, defenders Pham Xuan Manh and Do Thanh Thinh and midfielder Tran Minh Vuong.

The two most unfortunate absences are goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, who is being treated for a shoulder injury, and defender Nguyen Trong Hoang, who suffered a herniated disc.

As Vietnamese football must prepare for both the third qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2020, additions are necessary for the squad.

In the immediate future, they will be joined by players from the Vietnam U23 team attending the qualifying round of the 2022 U23 Asian Championship in Kyrgyzstan. Players with outstanding performances at the tournament will be selected to join their senior teammates.

Currently, head coach Park Hang-seo is leading the U23 team, so his assistant Lee Young-jin is tasked with taking care of professional work in the national team.

After the end of the 2022 U23 Asian Qualifiers, Park will return to Vietnam on November 4 to take on the senior team in preparation for the upcoming two match against Japan and Saudi Arabia.

In order to ensure safety against the COVID-19 epidemic, the team will operate under the principle of a "closed bubble". They gave their samples for RT-PCR testing at their hotel yesterday morning.

The team will have their first training session during this camp at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Centre in Hanoi later today.