Football

Filip Nguyễn of Hà Nội Police will train with the national team ahead of the 2024 Asian Cup which. Photo of Hà Nội Police

HÀ NỘI Days after receiving his Vietnamese passport, goalkeeper Filip Nguyễn has been picked for the 2024 Asian Cup squad of 50 to train ahead of next month's tournament.

Head coach Phillipe Troussier on December 12 made up a draft list of 50 players for the first campaign of the year. Filip is one of six custodians named.

The 31-year-old posted a video in which he said: "I am Filip Nguyễn. I am Vietnamese" on December 6.

Meanwhile on his Facebook page he posted: 'Finally, I have had it' attached with his photo of the Vietnamese ID card.

The Czech player, whose father is Vietnamese, has ended his 10-year journey to become a Vietnamese citizen.

Filip and his father began their procedure in 2014 but faced many difficulties on the way to perfect their documents.

During that time Filip proved his ability playing for Vlasim, Slovan Liberec and Slovacko FC.

He was called to the national team of Czech for the first time in 2020 and was a regular name in the team's reserve list since then. He was registered as a substitute in 10 matches from 2020 to the 2022 World Cup qualification. He values at around US$647,000 in the transfer market.

He arrived in Việt Nam early this year and signed a three-year contract with Hà Nội Police before winning the national championship with the club two months later.

The Việt Nam Football Federation praised Filip's ability and worked hard to help him obtain a Việt Nam passport to make sure that he would be in time to play for the national team at the 2024 Asian Cup.

Đặng Văn Lâm of Bình Định FC will be a tough challenger for Filip Nguyễn on the way to take the No 1 goalkeeper place in the national team. Photo of BÌnh Định FC

As Filip was called to the national team of Czech, the Asian Football Confederation will have to check his eligibility before their approval.

In Troussier's line up, Filip will have to vie against No 1 Đặng Văn Lâm, who is also an overseas Vietnamese keeper.

Lâm, 30, was first called to the national team in 2015 and he has guarded Việt Nam's goal since 2017.

Both of them have recently been considered among best 10 shot stoppers of Southeast Asian region.

Thailand's Siam Sport voted Lâm second behind Birmingham City's Neil Etheridge of the Philippines while Filip was fifth.

Siam Sport reported the two have had remarkable achievements in their careers but Filip was placed lower as he had not played any games for a national side.

Troussier will meet his players on December 28 in Hà Nội to prepare for the Asian Cup. The list will be reduced to 35 for a 10-day training course.

They will fly to Qatar on January 5. The team are in Group D and will play Japan on January 14, Indonesia on January 19 and Iraq five days later.

The final 23-member list of Việt Nam, which must include four goalkeepers, will be announced one day before the first match. VNS