Striker Cong Phuong has suffered a relapse of his injury and was absent from Vietnam national team’s training session this afternoon, March 17th.
Doctors have indicated that Cong Phuong is experiencing issues with his ankle. Coach Philippe Troussier has allowed the Yokohama FC striker to miss training. There’s a very slim chance that Cong Phuong will be included in the squad to travel to Indonesia for the first leg of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
Cong Phuong is a key player under coach Park Hang-seo, having been part of the team that reached the finals of the U23 Asian Championship in 2028, the semi-finals of the Asiad 2018, and won the AFF Cup 2018.
In Group F, Vietnam is currently in second place with three points, after winning 2-0 against the Philippines and losing 0-1 to Iraq in the matches of November 2023. Indonesia is at the bottom of the table with the same points as the Philippines but with inferior secondary criteria.
Currently, Vietnam is not at full strength due to a wave of injuries. In addition to Tuan Hai, Coach Troussier will definitely be without key players such as goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, full-back Doan Van Hau, center-back Que Ngoc Hai, midfielder Nguyen Tuan Anh, and Phan Van Duc. Conversely, Indonesia has timely naturalized a number of players of Indonesian descent but born and raised, playing football in Europe.
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