Hoang Duc: "The absence of Cong Phuong is a big loss for the Vietnamese team"

On the afternoon of June 3, striker Cong Phuong left the Vietnam national team after only 5 days of training. The Binh Phuoc club striker suffered a foot injury and was unable to recover in time for the match against Malaysia, the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

Coach Kim Sang Sik was forced to promote Quoc Viet from the U22 team to replace Cong Phuong. The Vietnam national team roster still has 23 players.

Midfielder Hoang Duc said that he and his teammates in the Vietnam national team were very sad when Cong Phuong left the team. In the past time, Cong Phuong has been trying very hard and determined to return to the Vietnam national team after nearly 2 years of absence.

"My teammates and I are all sad that Cong Phuong cannot continue to accompany the team due to injury. It has been a long time since Phuong returned to the team. He, like the other members, are very important to the team," Hoang Duc shared.

"We all welcome Mr. Phuong, but unfortunately he suffered an unfortunate injury. This is a big loss for the Vietnamese team in the preparation for the match against Malaysia.

The whole team encouraged and wished Mr. Phuong a quick recovery so that he can return to the national team soon. For every player, being injured when joining the national team is truly a sad thing," said the midfielder of Ninh Binh Club.

In an interview with the press before the training session on the afternoon of June 3, Hoang Duc assessed his opponent Malaysia: "They have many naturalized players and new players.

When watching Malaysia's video, we noticed that their team had many unfamiliar faces. It's been a long time since the Vietnamese team faced Malaysia, we are determined to play well. That will be the most important match this year."

Regarding the Vietnamese national team, Hoang Duc has high expectations for new recruit Cao Quang Vinh: "We welcomed and enthusiastically supported Vinh in his first time on the team.

Yesterday was the first tactical training session for the Vietnamese team with all the players present. Like previous tactical training sessions, the coaching staff encouraged the players to exchange information and bond more."

According to the plan, on June 4, the Vietnamese team will have an internal practice match. The press will not be allowed to cover this practice session. On June 6, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team will leave for Malaysia.