Head coach Nguyen Huu Thang on June 27 selected 28 players for the national U23 team for the upcoming 2018 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers.

28 players were selected for the national U23 team for the upcoming 2018 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers (Photo: Vietnam Football Federation)

Thang picked four goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 10 midfielders and four strikers.

Besides veterans such as Nguyen Cong Phuong, Nguyen Van Toan, Luong Xuan Truong and Vu Van Thanh, the coach has also called up young guns who played in the finals of the FIFA U20 World Cup such as goalie Bui Tien Dung, defenders Tran Dinh Trong, Ho Tan Tai, Huynh Tan Sinh and striker Ha Duc Chinh.

The squad will convene on July 3 in Hanoi and train at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Centre.

The qualifiers will be held in HCM City on July 19-23. Vietnam is in Group I alongside the Republic of Korea, Macau and East Timor.

After this tournament, the team will return to Hanoi to prepare for a friendly with a club team from the Republic of Korea on July 29. Then the squad will leave for the Republic of Korea on July 31 for a training camp ahead of the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia in August.

VNA