On the afternoon of July 16, the Vietnamese national team had their final training session at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center before departing for Thai Nguyen on the morning of July 17 to prepare for the international friendly match against Myanmar. This is also the final general rehearsal of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team before entering the journey to defend the ASEAN Cup 2026 championship.
Before the training session, the team received bad news when midfielder Khuat Van Khang had to leave the team due to a fully recovered injury. After the monitoring and evaluation process of the coaching staff and medical team, the player born in 2003 was given the opportunity to return to the club to continue treatment to ensure the recovery process.
Before Van Khang, center-back Do Duy Manh and defender Le Ngoc Bao also left the national team due to injury problems.
To ensure the force, coach Kim Sang-sik decided to call up defender Khong Minh Gia Bao of Ho Chi Minh City Police Club.
This is not the first time Minh Gia Bao has been given a chance in the national team. This defender was once called up by the Korean strategist in the November 2025 gathering to prepare for the match against Laos in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Having worked with the coaching staff is expected to help Gia Bao quickly integrate with his teammates.
In the afternoon training session on July 16, the coaching staff continued to complete tactical and personnel plans for the friendly match with Myanmar.
According to the plan, on the morning of July 17, the Vietnamese team will move to Thai Nguyen and have a training session to get acquainted with the stadium. The friendly match between the Vietnamese team and Myanmar will take place on July 18, before the team officially enters the campaign to defend the ASEAN Cup 2026 championship.
