VietNamNet Bridge – The new coach of the Vietnamese national football squad Falko Goetz will continue using young players at the upcoming games against Qatar in the qualifier round of the World Cup 2014.
The German coach seemed to absolutely trust his Vietnamese assistants since he did not make any change to the list of players suggested by the assistants, for the two recent matches vs Macau in the first qualifier round of the World Cup. Vietnam easily defeated Macau (13-1) to face Qatar in the second qualifier round. Goetz will continue using this team in the two games against Qatar.

However, experts showed their worries over the German coach’s decision. They said that Macau was too weak, so the two games vs Macau did not help show the weakness of the Vietnamese team. Qatar is a strong rival, so the Vietnamese team needs to have some senior players.

They said that some young players are incapable to join the national squad, particularly halfbacks Anh Tuan, Long Giang and Dinh Luat. The former coach Henrique Calisto did not call Anh Tuan and Long Giang to the national squad while Dinh Luat was only a reserve player.

Experts said that as Qatar is very powerful, Goetz should strengthen the defense with halfback Nhu Thanh and goalkeeper Hong Son.

But Goetz ignored the two stars. Nhu Thanh is considered to not have the best performance while Phuoc Tu, who makes a pair with Nhu Thanh is injured. Nhu Thanh, thus, is replaced by Chi Cong from Binh Duong FC.

Hong Son has good performance now, but he is not called up to the national squad because the star goalkeeper withdrew from the team in the games against Macau. Meanwhile, Goetz only wants to use players who are excellent and desire to devote themselves to the country.

Hong Son’s position is replaced by The Anh from Navibank Saigon and Tuan Manh from Hoang Anh Gia Lai, because Tan Truong, who is seen as the second best goalkeeper in Vietnam, has some wounds.

Striker Cong Vinh, who scored seven goals in the games against Macau, will join the team with strikers Quang Hai and Viet Thang.

Ignoring stars, Goetz highly praised young players, for example Dinh Tung from Thanh Hoa FC, Van Quyet and Van Bien from Hanoi T&T and Ngoc Thanh from SHB Da Nang. He said that players like Dinh Tung and Van Quyet would be pillars of the national team very soon.

Goetz and 24 players will group up at HCM City-based Thanh Long Sports Center from July 17. The team will go to Qatar on July 20, for the first-leg game at the Al-Saad Stadium on July 23.

Returning to Vietnam, the team will stay at Hanoi’s La Thanh Hotel from July 25, to prepare for the second-leg game against Qatar at the My Dinh National Stadium on July 28, which will be aired live on VTV2 channel.

The list of players:

Goalkeepers: The Anh (Navibank Saigon), Manh Dung (Thanh Hoa), Tuan Manh (Hoang Anh Gia Lai)
Fullbacks: Dinh Dong (Song Lam Nghe An), Viet Cuong (Hoang Anh Gia Lai), Long Giang (Navibank Saigon), Dinh Luat (Hai Phong), Anh Tuan (Navibank Saigon), Van Bien (Hanoi T&T), Quang Thanh, Chi Cong (Binh Duong)
Halfbacks: Duy Nam, Ngoc Duy (Hanoi T&T), Thanh Lung (Hanoi ACB), Ngoc Thanh (SHB Da Nang), Minh Chau (Hai Phong), Tan Tai (Khanh Hoa), Tai Em (Navibank Saigon)
Strikers: Cong Vinh (Hanoi T&T), Viet Thang (Ninh Binh), Quang Hai (Navibank Saigon), Trong Hoang (Song Lam Nghe An), Van Quyet (Hanoi T&T), Dinh Tung (Thanh Hoa).

PV