Vietnam team will be naturalized and compete with European and American stars at FIFA ASEAN Cup

Vietnam team faces 'big mountain'

The International Football Federation (FIFA) has revealed plans to organize a tournament called the FIFA ASEAN Cup in the near future, bringing together all 11 ASEAN countries, including the Vietnamese team.

In fact, Southeast Asian teams have had the AFF Cup (held every two years) for a long time, but the FIFA ASEAN Cup promises to bring something new. Because the FIFA ASEAN Cup is organized and sponsored by FIFA.

Besides the increased prestige compared to the AFF Cup (which is not part of the FIFA competition system), the FIFA ASEAN Cup will likely be part of the FIFA Days framework.

Will the Vietnamese team be crowned champions at the FIFA ASEAN Cup?

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

This means that participating teams can call up their full strength squads. There will be no way for clubs to refuse to release players once the Southeast Asian Championship is under FIFA's control.

Previously, the teams participating in the AFF Cup could not call up players playing in Europe and South America (due to overlapping club matches). This led to low tournament quality, because teams with many mixed-race players such as Indonesia and Malaysia could only use local players.

The FIFA ASEAN Cup is expected to overcome this shortcoming, paving the way for Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand to summon their best players currently playing in Europe.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Indonesian media is the most excited, at the prospect of naturalized stars from the archipelago such as Jay Idzes (Venezia, Italy), Thom Haye (Almere City, Netherlands), Ragnar Oratmangoen (Dender, Belgium), Nathan Tjoe-A-On (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Justin Hubner (Cerezo Osaka, Japan), Maarten Paes (Dallas FC, USA) or Rafael Struick (ADO Den Haag, Netherlands)... will participate in the Southeast Asian playground.

Indonesia may call up strongest force for FIFA ASEAN Cup

PHOTO: PSSI

Although Indonesia fell short of the World Cup, it is hard to deny that the naturalized stars have brought the team to a new level. Indonesia defeated Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, and tied with Australia... in the third qualifying round. The playoff spot helped Indonesia become the Southeast Asian team closest to the World Cup.

At the AFF Cup 2024, because they could not call up naturalized players of European origin, Indonesia played with an all-domestic squad to play in the domestic tournament. However, the Vietnamese team also had to struggle to win 1-0. When Indonesia has enough naturalized players, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will face a huge obstacle.

Similarly, Thailand and Malaysia do not lack "talent" playing in Europe, not to mention the Philippines also has a team of Africans playing in England and Germany.

Therefore, the road to the FIFA ASEAN Cup throne for the Vietnamese team will be much more bumpy than the AFF Cup.

What is the plan for Mr. Kim?

Compared to the top opponents, the Vietnamese team has the weakest mixed-race force. 100% of the team is playing in the V-League, no one plays abroad.

Famous overseas Vietnamese like Nguyen Filip and Cao Pendant Quang Vinh only had Vietnamese nationality when they played in the V-League.

And up to now, both have not maintained European class, not even much better than the domestic force.

Young factors (white shirts) need more opportunities

PHOTO: MINH TU

The Vietnamese team won the AFF Cup 2024 thanks to the "breath" of Xuan Son, a foreign player who was granted Vietnamese citizenship after accumulating 5 years of playing football in the host country. After Xuan Son, Do Hoang Hen was also granted citizenship. Two central defenders Gustavo Sant Ana ( Da Nang ) and Janclesio Almeida (Ninh Binh), along with striker Geovane Magno (also playing for Ninh Binh) are the next foreign players to receive a proposal for Vietnamese citizenship.

Unlike opponents using mixed-race players, the Vietnamese team is likely to pave the way for naturalized foreign players, most of whom have proven their class and have had time to understand Vietnamese football.

Meanwhile, the overseas Vietnamese force with Patrik Le Giang, Adou Minh, Kevin Pham Ba, Kyle Colonna, Pierre Lamothe, although capable and qualified, but whether they have surpassed domestic players and are good enough to raise the level of the national team, still awaits coach Kim Sang-sik's assessment.

When the opponent is naturalized, the Vietnamese team may also follow the trend to improve quality and physique. However, in general, Mr. Kim does not have a source of "imported" players of the same caliber as Indonesia and Thailand.

We still need to rely on domestic players, with the core being youth training. "VFF will not follow the trend of massive naturalization, but needs to invest in youth teams such as U.23, U.20, U.17," VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan affirmed.

Standing on your own two feet is the most sustainable way. Coach Kim will "borrow the SEA Games and U.23 Asia to hone his students' abilities, creating a runway for the young aircraft to take off for the national team in the near future.