Recently, a reputable newspaper in Indonesia published an article analyzing the strength of the Vietnamese national team. According to this newspaper, what makes opponents wary is not only Vietnam's position in the FIFA rankings but also the appearance of a series of quality naturalized players.
The author of the article has up to 4 naturalized players including goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang (Vietnamese overseas), striker Nguyen Xuan Son, midfielder Do Hoang Hen and Nguyen Tai Loc. Among these, Xuan Son, Hoang Hen and Tai Loc are predicted to play an important role in the attack of the Vietnamese team.
The Indonesian newspaper believes that this naturalized trio can make a big difference thanks to their coordination ability and playing experience. In the friendly match against Myanmar 4-0 recently, all three left their mark.
Xuan Son opened the score, Hoang Hen scored the first goal in the national team jersey, and Tai Loc was present in many dangerous attacking situations.
Notably, this newspaper gave special praise to Nguyen Xuan Son. The Brazilian-born striker scored 11 goals in just 9 appearances for the Vietnamese national team, becoming the most effective striker under coach Kim Sang-sik. At ASEAN Cup 2024, Xuan Son was also a prominent factor with 7 goals and 2 assists, making a great contribution to helping the Vietnamese team win the championship.
Besides the naturalized players, Indonesian media also noted that the Vietnamese team still has many experienced faces such as Quang Hai and Hoang Duc.
According to the schedule, the Vietnamese team will meet Timor Leste, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia in turn. In which, the confrontation with Indonesia is considered a match with a major impact on the race to win tickets to the semi-finals as well as the top spot in the group.
