Unpredictable changes in the Vietnamese team's goal

WORRY OF EXPERIENCE

In the initial list of players called up for the March training session of the Vietnamese national team, coach Kim Sang-sik called Nguyen Filip, Dinh Trieu and Van Viet. The competition is expected to continue between Dinh Trieu and Nguyen Filip, while young goalkeeper Van Viet (23 years old) joined the national team to gain experience.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Filip asked for permission to leave the Vietnamese team in March.

That is the familiar way of using people of most coaches, when prioritizing the number 1 and 2 goalkeeper positions for veteran faces, and the number 3 goalkeeper is a young player.

However, when Nguyen Filip asked for permission to temporarily withdraw from the Vietnam national team in March for family reasons (he returned to the Czech Republic to take care of personal matters), Mr. Kim did not call Dang Van Lam, the goalkeeper who is theoretically the second most experienced and classy in Vietnam after Filip. The Korean coach called Trung Kien from the U.22 team to the national team. This means that the current 3 goalkeepers only have one experienced face (Dinh Trieu), and 2 young faces.

Dinh Trieu is actually only experienced in terms of age, as he is 34 years old this year. In terms of seniority, he first joined the Vietnam national team in June 2023 under coach Philippe Troussier, then had his first starting match in October 2023 (Vietnam lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan in a friendly match). It was not until the AFF Cup 2024 that Dinh Trieu had his second starting match when he played against Laos. He went straight to the No. 1 goalkeeper position and won the title of best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Although Dinh Trieu is an example of perseverance when he once quit football to do other jobs to earn a living, then tried to come back and reach the top, it must be frankly admitted that at the AFF Cup, Dinh Trieu did not leave a big mark. He did not have many saves, still had a few shaky catches and needed to try harder. He is good enough for the AFF Cup, but whether he will become a long-term option, only time can tell.

The total number of matches played for the Vietnam national team by the 3 current goalkeepers in official tournaments is 6, and all of them belong to Dinh Trieu. Van Viet and Trung Kien have never played for the Vietnam national team. Never before has the experience of the 3 Vietnam goalkeepers been so limited.

I 'M SORRY FOR FEEDING THE NEGATIVE

Dang Van Lam continues to miss out on the Vietnam national team, even though he and Ninh Binh Club are leading the first division. Coach Kim Sang-sik did not call Van Lam to replace Nguyen Filip, but chose another young goalkeeper (Trung Kien) to take his place.

In fact, the decision to relegate to the first division has somewhat affected Van Lam's chances in the Vietnam national team. Although he still has some saves, such as shining on the penalty spot to help Ninh Binh team go deep in the National Cup, but overall, he is playing in a league with less competition than V-League (where the other 3 goalkeepers of the Vietnam national team are participating).

The dominance of Ninh Binh Club (10 wins in all) also unintentionally overshadowed Van Lam. He rarely got to show his ability, as Ninh Binh team played tight and overwhelming matches. He still trained well and professionally, but for coach Kim Sang-sik and assistant goalkeeper coach Lee Woon-jae, that was not enough. It was a pity for Van Lam that he had been absent from the national team for the past 6 months, since the September training session where he left a sad mark with his mistake in the match against Russia.

The Vietnamese team will meet Cambodia (March 19, friendly) and Laos (March 25, Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers) in the March training session. These are two teams that Vietnam has often won against in the past, but this time it may be different. Thanks to the naturalized players from Japan, Colombia, Ivory Coast and South Africa, the Cambodian team has become stronger. The Lao team is also improving day by day. The opponents are different from before, so Mr. Kim and his team must be very careful.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bien-dong-kho-doan-trong-khung-thanh-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-185250308224416469.htm