Objective advantage
Among the 3 goalkeepers summoned, Tran Trung Kien was the only one to gather on the same day as his teammates. Meanwhile, Dang Van Lam (Ninh Binh) and Nguyen Filip (Hanoi Police) joined the team later due to being busy playing in the National Cup and V.League.
In the context that the preparation time for the matches of the Vietnamese team is only limited to 10 days, along with being trained with goalkeeper coach Lee Won-jae more than his senior, Trung Kien is in a great advantage. It is possible that the goalkeeper born in 2003 is trusted by coach Kim Sang-sik, giving him a chance in the friendly match with Bangladesh on March 26.
Most recently in the 4th match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in mid-October, Trung Kien played the full 90 minutes when Vietnam defeated Nepal with a score of 1-0. Immediately after that, at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, he also had a commendable series of matches, contributing to helping U23 Vietnam win a bronze medal.
Not inferior to his seniors
After the AFC U23 Championship finals, Trung Kien's psychology was affected. He admitted that he lost 8kg in just over 1 month. He blamed himself for not playing well, causing U23 Vietnam to lose heavily to U23 China.
It was not until the V.League 2025-2026 returned that Trung Kien regained his playing rhythm and confidence. In 3 out of 5 matches of Hoang Anh Gia Lai, the 23-year-old goalkeeper played well, with a total of 19 saves and 1 clean sheet. Thanks to Trung Kien's solidity in goal, the Mountain Town team brought in 7/15 points, thereby continuing to have an advantage in the relegation race.
It is known that the coaching staff of Hoang Anh Gia Lai once asked Trung Kien to rest after the end of the Asian tournament, but the goalkeeper refused. He tried to regain optimism on the pitch by facing top V.League strikers.
Gradually overcoming the matches, Trung Kien found his own value. His form and bravery are the reasons why coach Kim Sang-sik continues to choose him in the Vietnamese national team.
In terms of performance in the V.League before joining the Vietnamese national team, Trung Kien is not inferior to his 2 seniors. Even based on some criteria, he is somewhat more prominent.
Trung Kien has 19 successful saves, higher than Van Lam (18 times) and Nguyen Filip (11 times). According to Sofascore specialist page, in the last 5 rounds of V.League, Kien has 2 matches with good scores. Meanwhile, Filip and Van Lam only achieved similar scores in 2 matches.
With Dang Van Lam, the overseas Vietnamese goalkeeper who grew up from Russia is going through a difficult period with Ninh Binh. The ancient capital team just had their first victory in 2026 when they defeated PVF-CAND in the National Cup quarter-finals. In the previous 5 matches in the V.League, Van Lam and his teammates lost 4 and drew 1. He conceded 13 goals in 6 matches.
On Nguyen Filip's side, this goalkeeper conceded fewer goals than Trung Kien and Van Lam (5 goals in 5 matches). However, it must be admitted that the goalkeeper born in 1992 is "easier to breathe" because ahead of him is the solid defense of Hanoi Police, with the high form of Dinh Trong, Van Hau, Viet Anh or Cao Pendant Quang Vinh.
Another factor that is also hindering Nguyen Filip, in the journey to consolidate his position in the Vietnamese national team, is the ability to exchange with the defense and the instability in playing feet. This inadvertently makes him not absolutely trusted by goalkeeper coach Lee Won-jae and Mr. Kim Sang-sik.
In the end, Trung Kien can believe that he deserves to be one of the quality choices of coach Kim Sang-sik. Even, he has enough ability to compete with Vietnamese-American goalkeepers who are qualified in Vietnam at present.
Importantly, Trung Kien needs to cherish the opportunity to assert himself in the national team jersey.
