Viet Nam is focusing on winning games and securing a berth in the third round of World Cup qualifiers, head of the Vietnamese team Nguyen Sy Hien told reporters.

Vietnamese players train in the UAE (Photo: Vietnam Football Federation)

Viet Nam are to play a friendly against Jordan on May 31 and then face Indonesia on June 7, Malaysia on June 11, and hosts the United Arab Emirates (UAE) four days later.

Hien added that defender Doan Van Hau is recovering from injury and will soon join his teammates at training.

All members of the team tested negative for COVID-19 on May 27 and have begun training in the UAE.

Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has spoken highly of forward Nguyen Tien Linh as an important factor in Vietnam’s potential success in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In an article published prior to the qualifiers’ resuming in June, the AFC previewed the upcoming action and the players to watch in Group G fixtures.

“Topping the group standings are Viet Nam, unbeaten in their first five games,” it wrote. “The 2019 AFC Asian Cup quarter finalists have amassed 11 points, with the highlight of their campaign being a famous 1-0 home victory against the UAE, thanks to a Nguyen Tien Linh strike.”

The 23-year-old forward has scored six goals in 11 appearances for Becamex Binh Duong in Viet Nam’s top tier V.League 1.

Source: VNA