Football - January 5, 2019 | 04:54 am PT

Vietnam hit the ground training for Asian Cup in UAE

Just hours after landing in Abu Dhabi, the Vietnamese men’s football team was already on the field, training.

After taking the flight from Qatar to Abu Dhabi, the national team took a short break at the hotel and began training in the afternoon at the Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium on Friday.

Two players from Binh Duong F.C. have been called up for Asian Cup this year. While Nguyen Tien Linh (C) is a familiar face and will become the main striker of the team in this tournament, defender Ho Tan Tai (R) is a new addition.

The main focus of the first training was to recover and build stamina so coach Park Hang-seo had the players do simple, light exercises.

Coach Park said he was satisfied with the conditions that Vietnam have been provided with in Abu Dhabi.

The players were comfortable and relaxed while training.

Key defender Tran Dinh Trong is absent from this tournament due to injury. Coach Park has called up some new defenders to make up. Another good news is that winger Nguyen Trong Hoang (with the ball) has fully recovered from injury and is ready to play.

One third of the training session was dedicated to switching from defense to offense. Coach Park said he wants the players to do this fluently and be ready to take on strong opponents in the group stage.

On Saturday morning, the team had a meeting with AFC represtatives to learn the tournament's regulations and resumed to training in the afternoon.

Vietnam are in group D with Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and will start the tournament against Iraq on January 8.

Photo courtesy of Vietnam Football Federation