Filip Nguyen acquires Vietnamese citizenship, giving coach Philippe Troussier another quality option for the goalkeeper position.

Filip Nguyễn is eligible to play for the Vietnamese national team if he is given the opportunity to be called up by coach Troussier.

Hanoi Police FC announces that Filip Nguyen holds Vietnamese citizenship. (Source: Hanoi Police FC)

On his personal page, Filip Nguyen happily announced: "Finally, I have it." Along with that, the goalkeeper of Vietnamese-Czech descent showed off a photo of himself holding his national identity card.

Filip Nguyen becoming a Vietnamese citizen is very good news for the goalkeeper and his family. However, the name Filip Nguyen has chosen for his identity card remains a mystery to this day.

Some reports suggest that the goalkeeper, whose father is Vietnamese, has had his name changed to Nguyen Filip; however, the CAHN club's goalkeeper has not officially confirmed this.

Previously, Filip Nguyen was granted Vietnamese citizenship on December 6th, after five years of striving to fulfill his dream. With his successful naturalization, the goalkeeper born in 1992 is likely to be called up to the Vietnamese national team at the end of December, in preparation for the 2023 Asian Cup.

In the latest development, the Czech Football Association (FACR) has confirmed in writing to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) that Filip Nguyen has never played for the Czech national team.

In fact, the goalkeeper, born in 1992, has been called up to the Czech national team several times for friendly matches since 2020, including the UEFA Nations League 2020/21 and the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

However, Filip Nguyen has never played a single minute in an official match, despite being registered as a reserve for the Czech national team. Therefore, Filip Nguyen is eligible to play for the Vietnamese national team if he is called up by coach Troussier.

With the addition of quality option Filip Nguyen, coach Philippe Troussier now has a pleasant headache regarding the goalkeeping position for the Vietnamese national team.

Compared to the number one goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, Filip Nguyen has his own strengths, especially his ability to play the ball with his feet - which is a weakness of Van Lam. According to statistics, Filip Nguyen averages 19.7 passes per match, with a pass accuracy rate of 88.6%.

As of Round 5 of the V-League 2023/24, Filip Nguyen and CAHN FC are ranked 5th with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, having conceded 6 goals. Meanwhile, Dang Van Lam and Binh Dinh FC are in 8th place with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses, having conceded 7 goals.

Coach Philippe Troussier's choice of which goalkeeper to start for the Vietnamese national team at the 2023 Asian Cup depends on the form of Filip Nguyen and Dang Van Lam in V-League matches, as well as their performance and adaptability to a ball-possession style of play once they have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming training camp.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/filip-nguyen-nhap-quoc-tich-viet-nam-hlv-philippe-troussier-them-lua-chon-chat-luong-cho-vi-tri-thu-mon-253511.html