Midfielder Tô Văn Vũ (left) trains for the match against Australia in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. Photo courtesy of VFF

Football

HÀ NỘI — Midfielder Tô Văn Vũ said he is striving to make the first team to play against Australia in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup.

Along with the return of midfielder Đỗ Hùng Dũng, Vũ is one of the options to change personnel in the Vietnamese team after the AFF Cup 2020. He is expected to bring freshness to the team.

Vũ said before a training session on Sunday: "Everyone was very tired when arrived in Australia due to a long journey. However, at present, the health of the players is better. Personally, I also feel good. I integrated and adapted well to the team compared to my previous two call-ups.

"Changes in way of playing have also been discussed with the players through each training session and activities. The training atmosphere of the team is very good, everyone is focused on the games.”

This is the third time Vũ has been summoned to the Vietnamese team by coach Park Hang-seo. In the previous two call-ups, he did not feature in any games.

"My goal was to win a place to go to Australia and I have," said Vũ.  

"Now, I will work hard for a new goal of trying to get a chance to play in the match with Australia. Hopefully, we can surprise this opponent."

Vũ was born in 1993 in the central province of Thanh Hóa. He recently played for Đồng Nai and Bình Dương teams. The path to becoming a professional player was much more difficult than that of many players of his age. He has never played in the Việt Nam national team jersey. It is possible that the chance is coming to Vũ in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup.

Việt Nam will face Australia in Melbourne on January 27 and then meet China at Mỹ Đình Stadium on February 1. VNS