Goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien is a special case in the ASEAN Cup 2026 championship journey of the Vietnamese team. The goalkeeper belonging to Hoang Anh Gia Lai was not allowed to play, but still won the Southeast Asian championship for the second consecutive time with the team.
Sharing about not being able to play in this year's tournament, Trung Kien said that this is still a valuable experience for himself.
In this tournament, I am not allowed to play, but I also think that I have helped and contributed a lot to the team. I think in the future he will try to achieve more titles," Trung Kien shared.
Although not directly competing, the goalkeeper born in 2003 has the opportunity to learn from seniors in the same position such as Le Giang Patrik, Dang Van Lam as well as the coaching staff of the Vietnamese team.
Each of them has their own strengths. I think this is another valuable season for me personally. I have learned a lot of lessons and experiences to be able to move forward in the next matches," Trung Kien said.
According to Trung Kien, each tournament is an opportunity for him to accumulate more experience, improve himself and aim to become a better goalkeeper in the future.
Surely after each tournament, I learn many useful lessons to accumulate, become a good goalkeeper, and try to achieve more titles for the national team as well as the club," the Vietnamese national team goalkeeper said.
At the age of 23, Trung Kien already possesses a remarkable collection of achievements. He has twice won the ASEAN Cup with the Vietnamese national team, two U23 Southeast Asian championships in 2023 and 2025, and a gold medal at the 2025 SEA Games.
Although he has not had the opportunity to play in the two ASEAN Cup 2024 and 2026 tournaments, the experience in the national team environment is expected to help Trung Kien mature and be ready to compete for a position in the Vietnamese national team's goal in the following tournaments.
