Vietnam’s number one keeper to miss World Cup qualifiers

Lam had contact with the case, another keeper at his Japanese club Cerezo Osaka, during training.

Later, Lam reported the situation to Vietnam's national team head coach Park Hang-seo. To guarantee team safety, Park had no choice but to exclude Lam from the Vietnam squad Saturday.

Lam is the number one choice for the national goalkeeper position. He has played all five previous games for Vietnam at the World Cup Asian qualifiers. His initial plan was to join the national team in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on June 6, after completing club duty.

Although a little heartbroken, the 28-year-old keeper will remain in Japan, having sent best wishes to his teammates at the tournament.

Without Lam, Vietnam still have three keepers, Nguyen Van Hoang, Bui Tan Truong and Nguyen Van Toan. They and other members of the team arrived in the UAE early on Thursday and have been training daily.

Vietnam are topping group G with 11 points. They will clash with Indonesia on June 7, Malaysia on the 11th and UAE on the 15th. Two wins out of three games will secure them a place in the final World Cup qualification round.