35 players called up to national team ahead of Asian Cup

Goalkeeper Filip Nguyen, defenders Le Ngoc Bao and Do Thanh Thinh, and midfielder Nguyen Hai Long are among the newcomers to the squad.

The team consists of several outstanding names from Cong An Hanoi FC, including Quang Hai, Thanh Long, Van Toan, Viet Anh, and Van Thanh.

Most notably, footballers Khuat Van Khang and Nguyen Van Tung from the Vietnam U23 squad have been called up to the senior side.

Familiar names to the national team include goalkeeper Dang Van Lam; midfielders Nguyen Hoang Duc and Do Hung Dung; defenders Nguyen Thanh Chung, Que Ngoc Hai; along with strikers Pham Tuan Hai, Nguyen Tien Linh, and Nguyen Van Toan.

The team will be led by coach Troussier and will fly to Qatar on January 5 to prepare for the 2024 Asian Cup. Vietnam are 94th in the world rankings and will play a friendly against Kyrgyzstan, 98th in the world, on January 9.

The opening match of Group D in the 2024 Asian Cup between Vietnam and Japan will take place on January 14 at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha in Qatar.

In the second match played on January 19 the Vietnamese team will face Indonesia at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. This is considered to be a key match for the national team as Indonesia are viewed as the weakest team in the group.

The final group stage match will be against Iraq on January 24 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Indonesia and Iraq are also Vietnam’s opponents in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

The 2024 Asian Cup will take place from January 12 to February 10, 2024, in Qatar. The top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams will enter the round of 16.

At the 2019 Asian Cup, Vietnam reached the quarterfinals, eventually losing to Japan.