On December 5, coach Kim Sang-sik officially finalized the list of 26 players for the Vietnamese team participating in the AFF Cup 2024. The 52-year-old strategist's choice was based on the form, professional skills and performance of his students through the three recent friendly matches in Korea.
Seven players said goodbye to the national team, including goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, midfielders Nguyen Thai Son, Tran Bao Toan, Phan Van Duc, Nguyen Van Truong, strikers Nguyen Dinh Bac and Nguyen Quoc Viet.
Among these, unfortunately Dang Van Lam's case was not able to recover from his injury.
Thus, naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son has the opportunity to play for the Vietnamese team at the Southeast Asian championship. However, the striker born in 1997 will have to wait until the match against Myanmar (December 21) to be eligible to play.
In addition, the Vietnamese team's core still includes key players such as goalkeeper Nguyen Filip, Duy Manh, Tien Dung, Quang Hai, Hoang Duc, Tien Linh...
Tonight (December 5), a group of 3 Nam Dinh players, Van Vi, Xuan Son and Van Toan, will join the national team after completing their duties for their home team.
Before participating in the AFF Cup 2024, coach Kim Sang-sik shared: "I see that the players' skills are getting better and better, and their tactics and techniques have also improved a lot. The Vietnamese players have a very strong passion, strong will and motivation. I am satisfied with that.
The team's goal is to reach the final of the tournament. That is the expectation of all Vietnamese fans, the whole team and myself. To do that, we need to try our best starting from the opening match against Laos and try to win every match."
According to the schedule, at 9am tomorrow morning (December 6), the Vietnamese team will take a flight to Vientiane (Laos). The team will have about 3 practice sessions before the opening match against the home team, which will take place at 8pm on December 9.
