Bui Tien Dung was called up by coach Troussier to join the Vietnam national team. He joined the team today, December 31, and was examined by doctors. However, the player of The Cong Viettel had health problems and was not physically fit enough to practice and compete.

With only 4 days left until the Vietnamese team goes to Qatar for training, coach Troussier decided to send Bui Tien Dung back to the club to rest and recover.

Bui Tien Dung is one of three players called up for this training session, along with Ho Tan Tai and Pham Van Luan. The Vietnamese team's squad has undergone major changes compared to the initial list of 34 players.

Hoang Van Toan, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Nguyen Duc Chien were all sent back due to injury-related issues.

Tonight, the team begins its first training session. Midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai is allowed to take a day off to prepare for his engagement ceremony tomorrow. After that, he will return to the team to prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup finals.

Coach Troussier can add excellent players from the U23 team to train with the national team. U23 Vietnam is currently training at the Vietnam Football Federation to prepare for the 2024 U23 Asian Cup finals.

According to the plan, the Vietnamese team will leave for Qatar on January 5. Coach Troussier brought 30 players before eliminating 4 more to finalize the list of 26 players. During the training period, the Vietnamese team will play a friendly match with Kyrgyzstan on January 9.

The opening match of the tournament will be on January 14, with Vietnam facing Japan. This will be followed by matches against Indonesia (January 19) and Iraq (January 23).

The Vietnamese team reached the quarter-finals in both previous appearances, in 2007 and 2019. Coach Philippe Troussier won the 2000 Asian Cup with the Japanese team.

Hoai Duong