Cong Phuong has put in a lot of effort but I'm afraid it's not enough to compete for an official position in the Vietnam national team, despite coach Philippe Troussier still giving him a great opportunity, putting Cong Phuong in a challenging situation.
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| Cong Phuong has almost no chance to play in Japan. (Source: Yokohama FC) |
At the end of 2022, Cong Phuong and Yokohama FC reached an agreement and signed a 3-year contract with the expectation of more success than previous trips abroad.
Cong Phuong himself also set a very specific goal for himself when he said he would try to play 25 matches and score 5 goals for both his club and the Vietnamese national team in 2023.
But up to now, when 2023 is only a few months away, the former HAGL player has only played for about... 6 seconds at Yokohama FC and one half in the Vietnam national team jersey.
And with not much time, Cong Phuong has not been able to score for the Vietnamese team as planned, except for the goal in the practice match during the most recent FIFA Days.
Playing for such a short time, his performance in the friendly match with Syria at Thien Truong Stadium in June was not much, not much of an impression... so the fact that Cong Phuong was named in the training session during this FIFA Days is quite surprising.
However, it is understandable that in reality, the Vietnamese team does not have many excellent strikers at the moment, so coach Philippe Troussier was forced to call up Van Toan and Cong Phuong - those who have international experience - instead of taking risks with rookies.
Not only that, some potential strikers like Van Tung, Minh Quang... are busy with U23 Vietnam in the U23 Asia qualifiers, so the opportunity is once again given to the two seniors.
Currently, the Vietnamese team is entering the first stage of preparation for the only friendly match on FIFA Days in September against Palestine in Nam Dinh.
According to plan, Cong Phuong flew back from Japan to join the Vietnamese team on the night of September 4, which means he has nearly a week to practice with his teammates and... compete for an official position.
Of course, a period of nearly a week will be easy for a player who plays regularly to integrate and ensure the feeling of playing football... but for someone who only practices alone, it's different.
Quang Hai is an example, the most excellent midfielder of the Vietnamese national team in the past few years took a long time to regain the feeling of real competition, even though the level of intensity in the V-League is not too high.
From Quang Hai, we can imagine a challenging prospect for Cong Phuong. The striker from Nghe An needs good "breath" and "rhythm" to make up for the time spent practicing alone in Japan, while time is the least thing for Cong Phuong right now.
Will Cong Phuong have time to prove that the "salvage ticket" that Coach Troussier threw out for him is reasonable? Cong Phuong's efforts and progressive spirit have never been lacking, but the reality is that it is indeed not an easy problem for the Nghe An striker to overcome.
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