Vietnam National Team missing over half of the squad due to this reason

Vietnam National Team will be short of up to 13 players on the March 21 gathering day due to conflicting match schedules, forcing coach Kim Sang Sik to flexibly adjust the lineup.

The Vietnam National Team will enter the FIFA Days gathering period in March with an incomplete squad, as up to 13 players will be absent on the first gathering day, March 21. This situation was anticipated beforehand due to the packed match schedules in both V.League and the National Cup.

According to coach Kim Sang Sik's plan, the national team will gather in Hanoi from March 21. However, many key players from Hanoi Police Club such as Nguyen Filip, Nguyen Quang Hai, and Bui Hoang Viet Anh can only join later because they have to play a postponed V.League match on March 22.

Not only that, a series of other players like Hoang Duc, Dang Van Lam, and Khuat Van Khang are also in a similar situation as they are busy playing the National Cup quarter-finals. This significantly reduces the team's numbers on the first gathering day, forcing the coaching staff to make flexible adjustments.

Nevertheless, coach Kim Sang Sik has proactively grasped the situation and created conditions for players to join later. Meanwhile, the remaining group of players, including names like Tran Trung Kien, Do Duy Manh, and Nguyen Xuan Son, still arrive on schedule to begin training and familiarize themselves with the tactical plan.

Notably, this call-up list still brings many new points, with the appearance of new recruit Do Hoang Hen – a naturalized player highly regarded for his technique and creativity. Besides, young faces like Tran Trung Kien and Nguyen Nhat Minh continue to be given opportunities to accumulate experience at the national team level.

According to the plan, the Vietnam National Team will have a friendly match against Bangladesh on March 26 at Hang Day Stadium, before moving to Ninh Binh to prepare for the encounter with Malaysia on March 31 within the framework of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Despite not having a full squad from the start, the team is still expected to quickly stabilize and reach their best condition for the upcoming objectives.