Vietnam coach adds new players ahead of China clash

By Lam Thoa September 30, 2021 | 01:16 am PT

Coach Park Hang-seo talks to the players in the national football team during a training session. Photo by Vietnam Football Federation

Coach Park Hang-seo has confirmed the squad list of 27 players for the upcoming World Cup qualifying games against China and Oman.

The three new faces in the team are star forward Nguyen Cong Phuong, defender Pham Xuan Manh and keeper Tran Nguyen Manh.

Phuong is a key player in the national team but missed the previous two World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Australia after his wife gave birth to their first child. Nguyen Manh is added to the team as a replacement for main keeper Dang Van Lam, who was injured recently, while Xuan Manh was called up to fill in the role of injured full-backs like Nguyen Trong Hoang and Doan Van Hau.

Park also decided to cross six players out of the list, of which four didn't meet his standard and two were injured.

On Friday, the team will fly to UAE, which China selected as their ‘home ground’ to play Vietnam on Oct. 7. Both teams haven't earned any point after two games.

Vietnam lost 1-3 to Saudi Arabia and 0-1 to Australia, while China lost 0-1 to Japan and 0-3 to Australia. After the China match, Vietnam will play Oman on Oct. 12.