Not easy for Russia to play Vietnam in hot weather: goalkeeper

Russia, peaking 33rd on world ranking, will play Vietnam, 81 places below them, in a friendly match on Thursday night.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Sport-Express on Tuesday, Vietnam's goalkeeper Lam affirmed that no matter how superior Russia are, playing in Hanoi with a temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius and high humidity is not easy.

Lam, who was born in Russia to a Russian mother and a Vietnamese father, sees the hot weather in Asia as a big challenge, as Russia often play in temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

"I can't imagine how Russian players deal with this," Lam said. "Besides, can they endure the long flights from Russia to Asia?"

A direct flight from Moscow to Hanoi takes about 13 hours.

Lam said the home team can embrace the spirit of never giving up in front of local fans in My Dinh Stadium on Thursday.

"Russia are world-class and the upcoming match will tell the level of Vietnamese football," he added.

The friendly tournament also involves Thailand, who will play Russia on Sept. 7 and Vietnam on Sept. 10, also in My Dinh.

Dang Van Lam makes a save in the 0-1 defeat of Vietnam against Iraq in the 2026 World Cup second qualifying round in 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Hieu Luong

Lam, 31, has been Vietnam's top goalkeeper for the past eight years. He has been in the starting lineup in the national team since 2018, winning the 2018 AFF Cup, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, and advancing to the 2022 World Cup third qualifiers.

Having trained at two prestigious Russian academies, Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Moscow, Lam initially struggled to find his place in Vietnamese football.

He joined Hoang Anh Gia Lai in 2010 but was loaned to Hoang Anh Attapeu FC in Laos. He then returned to Russia to play for two lower-tier clubs, Duslar and Rodina Moscow.

In 2015, he joined Vietnam's Hai Phong FC, where it took him over a year to secure the starting position.

In 2019, Hai Phong earned $500,000 from Lam's transfer to Thai club Muangthong United. Two years later, he became the first Vietnamese player to play in J-League 1 with Cerezo Osaka. In August 2022, Lam returned to Vietnam to play for Binh Dinh FC.

Last month, he joined Thanh Nien HCMC FC in V. League 2 on a four-year contract that worth $1 million.