Van Toan in the afternoon practice session on June 14
The 2022 World Cup qualifiers began when the Vietnamese team visited Thailand's home stadium, Thammasat, in a match that took place on September 5, 2019, where Van Toan was the main character.
It was a match of interesting milestones, as coach Park Hang-seo had his first official match against rival Thailand since leading the Vietnamese team.
Tuan Anh had his first start with Hung Dung in the center of defense, while Hoang Duc was still a young player aiming for the 30th SEA Games in 2019, not yet on the list.
That was also the match where "lungless man" Nguyen Trong Hoang had just returned from injury, Van Hau had returned from the Netherlands and on the attack line, the person that Mr. Park trusted was striker Nguyen Van Toan.
Cong Phuong will compete with Van Toan for a position in the attack line.
In that very intense and tactical match, Van Toan played as a striker while his close friend Cong Phuong sat on the bench and Tien Linh was on his journey of… learning.
But gradually, Tien Linh's progress with an ideal physique for the striker position has helped him quickly become the number 1 choice in the attack of the Vietnam national team. But in his own way, Van Toan has gradually asserted himself as one of the best strikers in the V-League.
At this time, when Mr. Park had stopped, in the opening match of the reign of coach Philippe Troussier, the opportunity opened up for Van Toan. This opportunity was not only because Tien Linh was injured and had to practice separately, but in fact he earned it thanks to his impressive efforts in K-League 2.
Among all the Vietnamese players who have played abroad, Van Toan is the brightest case with more than a dozen appearances for Seoul E-Land Club.
Van Toan has become much more confident since returning from Korea.
More importantly, in the theoretical phase of focusing on integration and adaptation, Van Toan has proven himself capable of meeting the physical, strength and speed requirements that have made it difficult for many Vietnamese players.
Giving up a safe place, including a lot of money from domestic transfers, to risk entering a country that used to be the "burial ground" of many Vietnamese football dreams in particular and Southeast Asia in general is a huge turning point in Van Toan's career.
Being alone in a foreign land has clearly helped him become tougher, more independent and stronger while still maintaining his strong, ambitious football identity.
That maturity promises to bring a better quality, more confident and capable K-League version of Van Toan to become one of the serious leading candidates for a position in the Vietnamese national team's attack.
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