Vietnam’s U23s add four players after more COVID-19 cases detected
VOV.VN - With further COVID-19 cases detected being in the squad, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has made the decision to call up four more players ahead of the upcoming fixture against Timor Leste in the 2022 AFF U23 Championship’s semi-finals.
After regular COVID-19 tests on the morning of February 23, seven cases were detected among the players.
As a result, the Vietnamese team now only have a total of 10 players, meaning the VFF were forced to call up more players to the squad.
The latest four players to join the squad include goalkeeper Tran Liem Dieu of Nam Dinh FC, defenders Tran Hoang Phuc of Ba Ria-Vung Tau FC and Ho Khac Luong of Song Lam Nghe An FC, along with striker Vo Nguyen Hoang of Pho Hien FC.
According to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), each team has the right to replace up to 10 players in the event of COVID-19 cases. Vietnam had already added six players to the squad before facing Thailand, meaning they were only allowed to add a further four more ahead of the semi-final match against Timor Leste on February 24.
Since the start of the tournament the spread of COVID-19 has hit the 2022 AFF U23 Championship hard, with Indonesia and Myanmar both being forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a lack of players.
Elsewhere, Singapore only had 14 players for their game with Vietnam on February 19, in which they lost 7-0.
Despite a shortage of players due to the pandemic, Vietnam still won 1-0 against Thailand on February 22 thanks to a goal scored by Nguyen Trung Thanh from a corner, thereby allowing the team to progress from the group stage and enter the semi-final round.
