The defense of the Vietnamese team has not been very solid recently, stemming from the fact that some players are currently not in good form, and some others are injured. However, all of these can be improved in the near future, because form can change over time, and most injuries can recover before the AFF Cup.
Not only that, domestic football still has a number of other faces who have recently been rarely called up to the national team, although in terms of ability, they are currently capable of wearing the national team jersey.
One of the most notable faces among them is central defender Bui Tien Dung of Viettel The Cong Club. This is an experienced central defender, a member of the Vietnamese team that won the AFF Cup 2018.
Bui Tien Dung has a lot of competition experience.
In the journey to the top of the V-League table of The Cong Viettel Club at this time (coach Nguyen Duc Thang's team has the same 10 points as the leading team Thanh Hoa, but is temporarily ranked lower due to lower secondary index), central defender Bui Tien Dung has made a significant contribution. Bui Tien Dung is a bit disadvantaged in terms of physique (1.76 m tall), but in return, he has the advantage of playing intelligently, calmly, being able to read situations and possessing good ball recovery techniques.
Bui Tien Dung has a similar playing style to Que Ngoc Hai, which is the ability to command the defense, the ability to cover well for teammates around. At the same time, when needed to join the attack, this center back can also make an impression with the ability to choose the landing point and head well in situations to receive set pieces, despite not being too tall.
Luong Duy Cuong is a mainstay of Da Nang Club.
Meanwhile, central defender Luong Duy Cuong of Da Nang Club is a different image from Bui Tien Dung. Luong Duy Cuong is strong, has a good physique (1.82 m), and is good at one-on-one combat. At the final round of the U.23 Asian Cup held in April this year, Luong Duy Cuong was the most stable defender in coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team.
When facing tall attacking players from the U.23 Malaysia and Kuwait teams (group stage), or even when competing one-on-one with Iraqi players in the quarter-finals, Luong Duy Cuong was always the winner.
Luong Duy Cuong's weakness before the 2024-2025 season was that he had not played much in the V-League (last season, Da Nang Club was in the first division), so his experience at the top level was not rich. However, after the current season started, this weakness was somewhat overcome. Luong Duy Cuong often played for SHB Da Nang, helping to increase his experience.
Compared to the previous time, Luong Duy Cuong has improved in that he has committed fewer unnecessary fouls and played more calmly, although he still maintained his strength in his challenges. If the Vietnamese team needs to add strength, Luong Duy Cuong will be a worthy choice for his ability to mark and stick to the opponent's attacking players. He is the complement to the technical quality of central defenders like Bui Tien Dung or Que Ngoc Hai.
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