National squad training suspended due to postponement of World Cup qualifiers
VOV.VN - The Vietnamese national men’s football team will not be meeting up for a training camp in August as initially planned following an announcement regarding a delay to fixtures in the Asian region’s qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup.
This comes after head coach Park Hang-seo and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) had announced a list of 36 players on August 12 to take part in the first national team gathering of the year with the aim of preparing for the squad’s participation in qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup scheduled for October and November.
The squad were comprised of plenty of familiar names such as Que Ngoc Hai, Quang Hai, Do Hung Dung, Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong, Trong Hoang, Van Toan, and Cong Phuong. Some of the newcomers include Xuan Nam of Ho Chi Minh City FC and Pham Van Phong of Saigon FC.
Park did not call in goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, who is currently playing in Thailand, and goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung, whose recent performances have seen the shot stopper fall out of favour with the coach.
The same day, both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation announced that all 2022 World Cup qualifiers will be postponed until 2021 in order to ensure the public’s safety during the ongoing novel coronavirus fight in Asia.
Due to these announcements, the Vietnamese national team now won’t have any official matches this year. As a result, the planned gathering will now take place in late 2020 to prepare the players to compete in international tournaments next year, according to the VFF.