Park summons 27 players for 2019 Asian Cup campaign

ABO/NDO – The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on December 18 stated that, after thorough considerations, coach Park Hang-seo officially announced the list of 27 players called up to the Vietnam national team in preparation for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign.

The players summoned for the 2019 Asian Cup mainly consist of the members of the Vietnamese squad who recently won the 2018 AFF Cup trophy.

The summoned names mainly consist of the members of the Vietnamese squad who recently won the 2018 AFF Cup trophy, excluding veterans Nguyen Anh Duc and Nguyen Van Quyet, and centre-back Tran Dinh Trong (injury).

Anh Duc and Van Quyet contributed significantly to Vietnam’s top honour at the freshly concluded regional showpiece. But due to their old age, Park has been forced to make calculations to ensure Vietnam’s competitiveness for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers in the future. The 59-year-old tactician has decided to give opportunities to seven young players, including Tran Minh Vuong, Phan Thanh Hau and Dinh Thanh Binh (Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC), Nguyen Thanh Chung and Ngan Van Dai (Hanoi FC), Nguyen Hoang Duc (Viettel), and Ngo Tung Quoc (XSKT Can Tho FC).

 

As planned, the national team will reconvene on December 20. Park’s troops will have four days to prepare for a friendly match against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea team at My Dinh National Stadium on December 25.

 

Two days later, the Vietnamese squad will travel to Qatar for a training course, during which they will have another friendly with the Philippines. On January 4, 2019, Park Hang-seo and his players will arrive in Abu Dhabi to prepare for their Asian Cup opener against Iraq, scheduled on January 8. The next two group stage matches for the “Golden Dragons” will be against Iran and Yemen on January 12 and 16, respectively.

 

(Source: NDO)