"We dream of the day when Vietnamese football develops rapidly to catch up with leading Asian football nations like South Korea and Japan," said center-back Do Duy Manh at the press conference before the match between the Vietnamese national team and South Korea. This is a rare opportunity for him and his teammates to face a world- class team in a friendly match at the national team level.
Compared to their opponents, the Vietnamese team is inferior in many aspects. The South Korean team is ranked 26th in the FIFA rankings, while the Vietnamese team is ranked 95th.
Defender Do Duy Manh (Photo: Minh Anh)
Playing at home, the South Korean team has all its best stars available for this training camp. Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Kang-in (PSG)... are all included. Son Heung-min is also named, but his participation is uncertain due to injury. Nevertheless, the South Korean squad is still far superior to the Vietnamese team.
"Not only me, but all the players of the Vietnamese national team are confident and proud to be facing South Korea. We are here representing our country. Although it's a friendly match, it still provides a valuable experience."
"The South Korean team has many players who play in Europe. They have a quality squad. We hope that one day the Vietnamese national team will participate in the World Cup. To achieve this, all players must put in their best effort," Duy Manh said.
The match between the Vietnamese and South Korean national teams will take place at 6 PM tomorrow (October 17th). The Vietnamese team will not have its strongest squad due to injuries to Nguyen Quang Hai and Que Ngoc Hai, and a suspension for Nguyen Tien Linh. In defense, besides Duy Manh, Coach Troussier has Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Phan Tuan Tai, and Nguyen Thanh Binh who can fill the central defender positions.
Meanwhile, the South Korean team is uncertain about the availability of star player Son Heung-min. The Tottenham striker suffered a minor injury before joining the national team. He did not play a single minute in the victory against Tunisia a few days ago.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: "Son Heung-min may not play in tomorrow night's match. We have to check the fitness of Son Heung-min and Hwang In-beom during this afternoon's official training session before we can decide whether they will play in the match against Vietnam."
Phuong Mai
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