Vietnam team changed 5 players against Laos

Striker Tien Linh returns to the starting lineup of the Vietnam team.

Coach Kim Sang-sik continues to put his faith in goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu, who was the number 1 choice from the 2024 ASEAN Cup. The defense remains the same with the central defender trio Duy Manh, Bui Tien Dung and Thanh Chung.

However, there have been significant changes on both wings. In the match against Cambodia, Trieu Viet Hung and Vu Van Thanh were assigned to play on the wing, but against Laos, Nguyen Van Vi and Nguyen Cong Tien Anh were chosen.

In the midfield, Ngoc Tan and Hoang Duc were in the previous match, but against Laos, Chau Ngoc Quang and Minh Khoa were on the field from the start. Meanwhile, Nguyen Hoang Duc recovered from injury and continued to maintain his coordinating role in the midfield.

On the attack line, Quang Hai and Hai Long supported behind striker Tuan Hai in the match against Cambodia. But in the opening match of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, Coach Kim gave Tien Linh the opportunity to pair with Hai Long.

The starting lineup for the match against Laos had 5 changes compared to the match against Cambodia, with the midfield and the two wings having the most changes. The rotation of personnel clearly shows Coach Kim's intention in assessing the overall force, while ensuring the physical strength of the pillars during the dense competition period.

Vietnam will face Malaysia, Nepal and Laos in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Being in the top seed group and not having to face teams in the world's top 100, the "Golden Star Warriors" will avoid some strong teams. All three opponents in the group are considered to be of equal strength.

The 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers have 24 teams participating. These are the teams that did not pass the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia. The teams compete in a round-robin format (home and away) to calculate ranking points. Only the top teams will qualify for the Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia.

Highlights U22 Vietnam 1-1 Korea U22 Vietnam had a beautiful opening goal from Thanh Nhan but could not maintain the victory and let Korea equalize in the last minute in the friendly match on the afternoon of March 20 in China.

Source: https://znews.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-thay-doi-5-cau-thu-truoc-lao-post1540799.html