Captain Hung Dung, Dinh Bac returns, Quang Hai and Thanh Binh are on the bench

The list of 11 players who will start for the Vietnam national team in the match against Iraq at 6:30 p.m. today (January 24) has been revealed. Coach Philippe Troussier decided to shuffle the starting lineup in the final match of the 2023 Asian Cup, creating conditions for many new names or those who are only used to sitting on the bench. Among them are Le Ngoc Bao and Khuat Van Khang.

In particular, in the loss to Indonesia, Hung Dung did not play a single minute, but in this match, he wore the captain's armband. Quang Hai was the captain in the previous match, but today he was on the bench. Similarly, center back Thanh Binh was also on the bench.

Vietnam has played five matches against Iraq since 2007. The first time the two teams met in the quarter-finals of the 2007 Asian Cup, Vietnam lost 0-2. In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam drew 1-1 in the first leg at home, then lost 0-1 in the rematch on neutral ground.

At the 2019 Asian Cup, the two teams met again. Despite their best efforts, the Vietnamese team still lost 2-3. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, coach Philippe Troussier and his team lost 0-1 to Iraq. Notably, in 3 out of 5 of these encounters, the Vietnamese team lost the decisive goal in the final minutes.

Van Khang (middle) is in the starting lineup.

Dinh Bac returns

Coach Troussier and his students get acquainted with the field

Coach Troussier shared: "I want the Vietnamese team to create the most comfortable atmosphere, and to get that, we have to beat Iraq. The players will try to bring good results. Iraq has passed the group stage, but we still want to leave a good image, that the Vietnamese team is improving. Hopefully Vietnam will play well, have a quality match. Let's see what we can do."

Iraq coach Jesus Casas replied: "Every match at the Asian Cup is equally important, because it is an opportunity for the players to improve and give their best performance. In football, every team wants to win every match they play in. The Vietnamese team also wants to win against us, of course. In sports, no one wants to lose."

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-su-dau-iraq-hung-dung-doi-truong-dinh-bac-tro-lai-quang-hai-va-thanh-binh-du-bi-185240124160817905.htm