Dang Van Lam and Nguyen Filip in the first training session under coach Kim Sang-sik
In the training session in June, preparing for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which was also the debut match of coach Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnamese team summoned 4 goalkeepers including Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Filip, Nguyen Dinh Trieu, and Quan Van Chuan.
Among them, the two leading candidates for the starting position in the match against the Philippines at My Dinh Stadium on June 6 are considered a fairly balanced internal race between the two Vietnamese-American goalkeepers Dang Van Lam and Nguyen Filip.
Dang Van Lam is considered a successful model representing the wave of overseas Vietnamese players returning home to contribute to the Vietnamese national team, shining in the 2018 AFF Cup championship, runner-up of the 2022 AFF Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup.
Van Lam's strongest point is his tall body (1.88 m), long arms that help him defend against high balls and is especially strong in 1-on-1 situations thanks to his quick ball-saving reflexes.
The concentration of Van Lam and Nguyen Filip on the training ground
In addition, the long time back home helped Van Lam easily communicate directly in Vietnamese with his teammates, especially with the central defenders in front thanks to many years of playing side by side in all major and minor tournaments during the reign of coach Park Hang-seo, contributing to creating a very difficult to break record of 588 consecutive minutes of keeping a clean sheet at the AFF Cup.
For his part, Nguyen Filip is a formidable opponent to Dang Van Lam, considered to be "coming later, coming back first" when he won the full trust of coach Philippe Troussier in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup and the 2024 Asian Cup.
In terms of physique, Nguyen Filip (1.92 m) is taller than Van Lam, and has played football in Europe for many years. He was awarded the title of best goalkeeper in the 2019 Czech Republic national championship and was called up to the Czech Republic national team a year later.
In particular, many experts believe that Nguyen Filip (born in 1992) has an advantage thanks to his ability to play football with his feet better than Van Lam (born in 1993), helping him participate deeply in the development of the ball from the bottom up, which is a trend in modern football.
Nguyen Filip's smile as he prepares to welcome his second child
However, it was unfortunate for Nguyen Filip that the period when he was highly valued by the Vietnamese team coincided with the time when coach Philippe Troussier made a series of mistakes, trying to use too many young players who were not yet mature, leading to 10 losses in the last 11 matches.
At the club level, Nguyen Filip is also not in good form. The fact that the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) has changed 6 head coaches within 1.5 years has made them unstable. This disadvantage has somewhat affected the ability to cover the defense, which has suffered 4 consecutive losses since coach Kiatisak left.
In total, the team has conceded 28 goals after 22 rounds in the 2023-2024 V-League, compared to only 21 goals after 20 rounds in the 2023 V-League. Coach Tran Tien Dai said Filip Nguyen's poor Vietnamese skills put him at a disadvantage in connecting with the defending V-League champions' defense.
This is in contrast to Dang Van Lam's performance, which is helping Binh Dinh Club fly high in second place in the V-League 2023 - 2024, with the foundation of the most solid defense in the tournament with only 24 goals conceded after 2 matches.
The competition between Dang Van Lam and Nguyen Filip will pose an interesting problem for coach Kim Sang-sik.
In particular, Van Lam proactively asked the goalkeeper coach at Binh Dinh Club to train him to handle the ball with his feet to narrow his disadvantages, in a silent but determined and fair competition with Nguyen Filip.
Because of such passion, there was a little friction between Van Lam and coach Bui Doan Quang Huy during the training session of Binh Dinh Club. Fortunately, the two teachers and students quickly resolved the misunderstanding with a frank 25-minute talk, before Lam "Tay" joined the Vietnam national team.
For his part, Nguyen Filip (temporarily wearing the number 1 shirt) is heading into the World Cup qualifiers with strong motivation, thanks to the strong encouragement from the good news that his wife Anteta Nguyen is about to give birth to their second child, after their eldest son Filip, who is 4 years old.
The fierce and exciting competition between the two giants Dang Van Lam and Nguyen Filip will only bring positive points to the Vietnamese team, giving coach Kim Sang-sik a pleasant headache when he has to choose the "number 1" position in goal in the debut day against the Philippines on June 6.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dang-van-lam-nguyen-filip-nong-bong-cuoc-dua-giua-2-ga-khong-lo-tai-nang-185240602112934132.htm
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