Van Toan: 'Vietnam will play well at Asian Cup 2023'

Nguyen Van Toan believes the Vietnamese team will achieve good results in the first official tournament under new coach Philippe Troussier.

At the 2023 Asian Cup, Vietnam is in Group D with the current runner-up Japan, Iraq and Indonesia. Van Toan feels the difficulty against strong opponents, but believes the team will overcome this challenge.

"I believe Vietnam will achieve good results," Van Toan told Best Eleven . "We have experience at the Asian Cup."

Van Toan (in blue shirt, middle) dribbles the ball during Seoul E-Land FC's 3-2 win over Cheonan on May 13 in K-League 2. Photo: Seoul E-Land

In the 2019 edition in the UAE, Vietnam overcame a difficult group with Iran, Iraq and Yemen, then defeated Jordan in the round of 16 before losing 0-1 to Japan in the quarterfinals. To this day, Van Toan still regrets the loss to Japan - a match in which Vietnam only lost by one goal thanks to a penalty assisted by VAR technology. Van Toan also participated in this match, coming on in the second half and missing an opportunity to equalize for Vietnam.

"My teammates and I learned a lot from that match," said Van Toan.

The 2023 Asian Cup is the first official tournament that the Vietnamese team will be led by new coach Philippe Troussier, after Park Hang-seo. Despite many doubts, Van Toan believes in a new wind in the team.

"I have not met and do not know much about Troussier's football," Van Toan said. "But football is always changing. Players need to adapt to the new coach's playing style and play well."

The Vietnamese team gathered for the first time under the French coach in early March for five days. Van Toan, along with Cong Phuong and Quang Hai, were the stars absent due to playing abroad. The second gathering will take place in mid-June and will follow the FIFA Days schedule. Van Toan is expected to return to the team this time.

After the 2022 season, Van Toan left HAGL to join Seoul E-Land FC in K-League 2. He played a total of seven matches with 253 minutes, making one assist in the 6-0 win over Bucheon 1995 in the second round of the National Cup on March 29.

The striker born in 1996 could have played more if he had not suffered an ankle injury during the training session on March 30. Van Toan had to rest for the rest of April, missing seven matches. He returned on May 3 when he played the last seven minutes of the 2-1 win over Gyeongnam FC in the K-League 2.

Tomorrow, May 20, Van Toan and Seoul E-Land will welcome Bucheon 1995. After 12 matches, the team won four, drew two, lost six and ranked 9th with 14 points. Meanwhile, Bucheon 1995 has 22 points and is ranked third.

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