After Nguyen Xuan Son, another naturalized player is likely to be called up to the Vietnam national team to prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
"After Xuan Son, we are targeting Jason Quang Vinh Pendant of the Hanoi Police Club. He is young and has the potential to contribute long-term to the Vietnam national team," Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Tran Anh Tu revealed.
According to Mr. Tu, from a professional perspective, Jason Quang Vinh Pendant is the player that coach Kim Sang Sik really needs to play on the left wing. Since Van Hau was injured and it is not known when he will recover, the left wing of the Vietnamese team has not had any truly quality players.
According to research, Jason Quang Vinh is in the process of completing naturalization procedures. If nothing changes, he will become a Vietnamese citizen in the next few days. Unlike Xuan Son, Quang Vinh is a player of mixed Vietnamese and French blood. His mother is Vietnamese.
Jason Quang Vinh's addition is very necessary in the context that the Vietnamese team lost Xuan Son for about 9 months due to injury. Quang Vinh will most likely officially debut for the Vietnamese team in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup with the opening match against Laos on March 25.
“The important thing is that when naturalized, Quang Vinh still needs to meet the requirements and evaluation of the head coach. After Xuan Son, VFF wants to have Quang Vinh, but it is not yet possible to determine when it will be successful,” Mr. Tran Anh Tu said.
Although the door is open to naturalized players, VFF does not call up players en masse like Indonesia is doing, but rather selects and calculates reasonable numbers. According to VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu, youth training must still be given top priority.
"Although we need achievements, we still cannot break the entire youth training system. If we do not let young players compete, the national team will have loopholes. The VFF was directed by the Prime Minister on the football development plan with a roadmap for 2030 and a vision for 2045. During that period, the Vietnamese team was assigned the target of entering the top 16 to 10 in Asia and winning a place to attend the World Cup finals. However, the VFF alone cannot do it, we need the cooperation of the whole society," Mr. Tran Anh Tu said.
TB (according to Vietnamnet)