Laos' young squad
The youngest of the 26 players on the Laos team, preparing for the match against the Vietnam team at Binh Duong Stadium on March 25, is midfielder Phousomboun Panyavong, who is only 18 years old. On the contrary, the oldest player on the Thai team is midfielder Phoutdavy Phommasane, 31 years old.
Laos and Vietnam teams have faced each other at AFF Cup 2024
Up to 12 out of 26 Lao players preparing to meet the Vietnamese team are of age to participate in the 33rd SEA Games in 2025, meaning they were born after 2003. That reflects the team of coach Ha Hyeok-jun (Korean) wants to prepare for the Southeast Asian Games, through the Asian Cup qualifying round.
The 1.91 m tall player of the Vietnam team arrived in Binh Duong on March 11.
Vietnam team gathers on the morning of March 11
Photo: HAGL
There are 22 players in the Lao national team playing in domestic leagues and 4 players playing abroad. They are midfielder Phoutthasay Khochalern playing for Thap Luang United in Thailand's Thai-League 3, midfielder Roman Angot playing for SV Linx in Germany's 6th division, midfielder Theo Klein playing for the semi-professional Omaha Mavericks in the US, and captain striker Bounphachan Bounkong playing for Svay Rieng in Cambodia.
In general, the players who are playing abroad for the Lao national team either play in small football leagues (Cambodia), or play for non-professional teams in Thailand, Germany, and the US. Therefore, their professional skills are not very high.
Laos coach is a compatriot of coach Kim
The last time the Lao team faced the Vietnamese team was in the group stage of the 2024 AFF Cup. At that time, coach Ha Hyeok-jun's team lost to coach Kim Sang-sik's team with a heavy score of 1-4.
Lao national team coach Ha Hyeok-jun visited Binh Duong a few weeks ago to watch some Vietnamese players compete in the V-League.
The Lao team has not significantly improved in terms of personnel compared to the above match. Bounphachan Bounkong was the author of the only goal scored for the Lao team in the match against the Vietnamese team in December 2024. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese players who scored against the Lao team at that time, including Tien Linh, Van Vi and Hai Long, are all in the home team at the present time. Only striker Van Toan, the author of the remaining goal against the Lao team in the AFF Cup, is currently absent due to injury.
Chau Ngoc Quang and other players of the Vietnamese team gathered to prepare for the match against Laos.
Photo: HAGL Club
Before playing against the Vietnamese team in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, coach Ha Hyeok-jun of the Lao team came to Vietnam a few weeks ago to observe the Binh Duong field and the performance of some Vietnamese players playing for Binh Duong, including strikers Nguyen Tien Linh, Bui Vi Hao and midfielder Vo Hoang Minh Khoa. Mr. Ha Hyeok-jun highly appreciated Tien Linh's goal-scoring ability.
It is likely that the Thai team will come up with a plan to lock down the leading striker of the Vietnamese team, Tien Linh. There is a detail quite similar to the match between the Vietnamese team and the Lao team at the AFF Cup, which is that striker Nguyen Xuan Son will not be present in this match. Last time, at the AFF Cup, Xuan Son was not eligible to wear the Vietnamese team's jersey, because he had not reached the date FIFA allowed him to play as a Vietnamese player. Currently, Xuan Son is absent due to injury.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lao-cong-bo-danh-sach-dau-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-co-nhan-su-dang-choi-tai-thai-duc-my-185250311121434045.htm
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