Dang Van Lam misses Asian Cup 2023

During the medical examination after the team meeting on the morning of December 31, Van Lam was diagnosed with a right calf strain and Achilles tendonitis and will have to rest completely for another three weeks. That means he will not be able to participate in the 2023 Asian Cup, because the team will play their opening match against Japan on January 14, then play Indonesia (January 19) and Iraq (January 24).

Before that, near the middle of the second half of the match between Binh Dinh and Hai Phong in round 8 of V-League 2023-2024 on December 27, Van Lam suffered pain in his right leg while running to get the ball. He was treated by Binh Dinh's medical team for about three minutes before leaving the field, giving way to reserve goalkeeper Tran Dinh Minh Hoang. When the match ended, the goalkeeper born in 1993 walked with limping steps.

Van Lam has been the national team's number one goalkeeper since 2017, with 40 appearances. He won the 2018 AFF Cup, reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup and participated in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup for the first time.

Another overseas Vietnamese goalkeeper, Nguyen Filip, is almost certain to be given the starting position. The remaining goalkeeper called up is Nguyen Dinh Trieu from Hai Phong. Coach Philippe Troussier can promote goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet from the U23 team, or add another face who is also performing well in the V-League, Tran Minh Toan (Binh Duong).

In addition to Van Lam, midfielder Nguyen Duc Chien and striker Nguyen Thanh Nhan also missed the tournament in Qatar due to injury, followed by central defender Nguyen Thanh Chung and midfielder Hoang Van Toan. Four other faces, Que Ngoc Hai, Do Duy Manh, Nguyen Hoang Duc and Nguyen Tien Linh, have not yet reached their best physical condition. Coach Trousier has called up three additional players: midfielder Pham Van Luan, defender Bui Tien Dung and Ho Tan Tai.

The team will train at the Youth Football Training Center, located on the campus of the Vietnam Football Federation. The team will finalize the list of 30 players to go to Qatar to train and play a friendly match on January 9 with Kyrgyzstan, then eliminate more players to finalize the 26 players for the Asian Cup.

The 2023 Asian Cup will take place from January 12, 2024 to February 10, 2024. China was originally chosen as the host but withdrew due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. For this reason, the tournament was postponed to early 2024. The 24 teams will be divided into six groups, playing a round-robin tournament to select the six first-place teams, six second-place teams and four best third-place teams to advance to the round of 16.

List of 32 players of Vietnam national team (as of the afternoon of December 31)

Goalkeeper(2): Nguyen Filip (CAHN), Nguyen Dinh Trieu (Hai Phong).

Defender(13): Vu Van Thanh, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Giap Tuan Duong, Ho Van Cuong (CAHN), Do Duy Manh, Que Ngoc Hai, Vo Minh Trong (Binh Duong), Nguyen Thanh Binh, Phan Tuan Tai (The Cong Viettel), Le Ngoc Bao, Do Thanh Thinh (Binh Dinh), Bui Tien Dung (The Cong Viettel), Ho Tan Tai (CAHN).

Midfielder(12): Nguyen Hoang Duc, Khuat Van Khang, Truong Tien Anh (The Cong Viettel), Do Hung Dung, Pham Xuan Manh, Nguyen Hai Long (Hanoi FC), Nguyen Quang Hai, Le Pham Thanh Long, Pham Van Luan (CAHN), Nguyen Tuan Anh (HAGL), Trieu Viet Hung (Hai Phong), Nguyen Thai Son (Thanh Hoa).

Forward(5): Pham Tuan Hai, Nguyen Van Tung (Hanoi FC), Nguyen Tien Linh (Binh Duong), Nguyen Van Toan (Nam Dinh), Nguyen Dinh Bac (Quang Nam).