Vietnam national football team

Early Vietnamese football with Vietnamese players and French officials in the Championnat Cochinchine, c. 1922–23

The introduction of football into Vietnam traced its roots in 1896 during the era of colonial French Cochinchina. At the early stage, the sport are only played among French civil servants, merchants and soldiers. The French then encouraged local Vietnamese to played football and several other sports that were introduced to them to divert their interest from politics which resulting the sport being spread to other regions, mostly the northern and central region.[11][12] On 20 July 1908, the newspaper Southern Luc Tan Van reported the match between two local Vietnamese teams for the first time. A first football guidebook then published in 1925 by a local Vietnamese doctor named Pham Van Tiec to attract the interest among Vietnamese youngsters.[13] By 1928, the Vietnamese had established the Annamite Sports Bureau and in the same year they sent a Vietnamese football team to compete in Singapore. More local football clubs then established in both northern and southern Vietnam although it was not until after the World War II that football clubs in the region started to become more organised.[14] It was the time Vietnam played their first ever international match, against Korea in Saigon which they lost 2–4.

The South Vietnam team winning gold at the 1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games.

The North Vietnam team in 1956.

Two national football teams then existed when Vietnam was divided into South Vietnam and North Vietnam. The team from the South participated in the first two AFC Asian Cup finals (1956 AFC Asian Cup and 1960 AFC Asian Cup) and finished in fourth place both times. They won the first Southeast Asian Games in 1959 in Thailand. The team also entered qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, beating Thailand 1–0 to qualify the classification matches before losing their group opening matches by 0–4 to Japan and 0–1 to Hong Kong. The team played their last game against Malaysia in 1975 where they lost 0–3. Meanwhile, the team from the North was less active, not being a member of either AFC and FIFA, often playing against other Communist states between 1956 and 1966. They had their first match against China PR where they lost 3–5 under head coach Truong Tan Buu. They participated in the first GANEFO (Games of the New Emerging Forces) competitions at Indonesia in 1962 and Cambodia in 1966. Both teams ceased to exist when the North and South regions were combined together into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam following the end of the Vietnam War, but North Vietnam did not become a member of AFC and FIFA until 1976.[15] Because South Vietnam was a member of FIFA, the later unified Vietnam team is classified as the successor of South Vietnam by FIFA.

The development of football during this era for both Vietnams was marked with stagnation as the Vietnam War occurred at the same time. The Vietnam War, a war that occurred between two states, had a tremendous impact and delayed the development of football in the country. Because of the war, Vietnam, by then, a major football force in Asia, started losing its reputation as the war ruined the country. Thus, the conflict had greatly reduced Vietnamese football ability and weakened the country seriously. However, the following Cambodian–Vietnamese War and Sino-Vietnamese War, and global sanctions against the country, had depleted the nation's football team and turned Vietnam into one of the weakest teams in the world and Asia overall. For this reason, Vietnamese football can be still considered as new and unknown for the rest of the world, in spite of its long standing history as Vietnam only rejoined global football in 1991.

Vietnam's professional football league, known as the All Vietnam Football Championship, was launched in 1980 to redevelop Vietnamese football after a long period of civil war. In 1989, following the Đổi Mới reforms, a new football federation was formed. Vietnamese sports began to return to international events. After three months of preparation, in August 1989, the First Congress of the new football federation took place in Hanoi, declaring the formation of the Vietnam Football Federation. Trịnh Ngọc Chữ, deputy minister of General Department of Sports, was elected as the first president of VFF.[16] The reunified Vietnam national football team then played their first match against the Philippines in 1991 where they had a draw.[17]

Vietnam participated in the country's first ever FIFA World Cup qualification in 1994 World Cup campaign for the first time as an unified nation, having participated in the 1974 qualification as South Vietnam. The national side at the time was not successful in World Cup campaigns, failing in both the 1994 and 1998 qualifications with only one win.

In 1996, Vietnam participated in the first Tiger Cup where they finished in third place and hosted the second Tiger Cup in 1998 where they lost 0–1 to Singapore in the final. From 2000 to 2007, Vietnam continued their quest to win the Southeast Asian trophy, but often ended short by losing in the semi-finals or being eliminated in the group stage. Also around 1996, Vietnam gained international headline for inviting Italian giant Juventus F.C. to play in a friendly match in Hanoi, with Juventus already lifted the recent 1995–96 UEFA Champions League title. The game, which Vietnam lost 1–2, was a watershed moment that boosted the development of football in the country.[18]

Vietnam was the host of the 1999 Dunhill Cup, a friendly tournament for both senior and U-23 players. Since it was categorized as a mingled senior and U-23 competition, some national teams had decided to participate using its senior reserve side. In this competition, Vietnam created a promising performance, including a shock win over then-1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996 participant Russia 1–0 and drawing with 1998 FIFA World Cup participant Iran 2–2 and topping the group. Vietnam was then eliminated in the semi-finals after a 1–4 defeat to China.

2002 FIFA World Cup qualification had some of Vietnam's few bright moments during these World Cup campaigns, with the team winning three matches and drawing one, both played in Dammam. However, with the team having lost against Saudi Arabia, Vietnam did not qualify for the World Cup. The 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification was also unsuccessful, with Vietnam falling to South Korea and Oman, but managing to create a shock 1–0 win to 2002 FIFA World Cup's fourth-place winner South Korea in Muscat, which remains as one of Vietnam's greatest football feats since unification.[19] The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification had been extremely depressing for Vietnam, with the team once again failing, falling behind South Korea and Lebanon, and only staying above Maldives by goal difference.

Scenes during the final of 2008 AFF Championship. Clockwise from top: Vietnamese supporters during Vietnam's triumph, Vietnamese team receiving the cup and Vietnamese team before the second leg final matches.

During that shortcoming era, Vietnam hosted the 2007 AFC Asian Cup along with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand; despite failure to qualify for the Asian Cup since the 1990s. The team was ranked second lowest only after Malaysia, but in the group stage, Vietnam created shock by defeating the UAE 2–0, drawing 1–1 with another Gulf team, Qatar, before losing 1–4 to Japan. Vietnam were the only Southeast Asian and host team to reach the quarter-finals, where they lost to eventual champions Iraq 0–2.[20] The amazing journey of Vietnam began the first renaissance of Vietnamese football.

Vietnam won the first AFF Championship title in 2008, in which they were held in Group B with Thailand, Malaysia and Laos. After losing to Thailand 0–2 in the opener, Vietnam defeated Malaysia 3–2 and Laos 4–0. In the semi-finals, Vietnam held the defending champion Singapore to 0–0 in the home match before winning 1–0 away. Vietnam met Thailand again in the finals and defeated them 3–2 by aggregate, winning the away match 2–1 then drawing 1–1 at home.[21] This would be the team's first international honour since rejoining global football, and it would take 10 years until the team repeated this feat.

Vietnam almost managed a successful 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification when Vietnam performed well against Syria and Lebanon, as well as against China; but the shortcoming on scoring goals once again proved to be instrumental on denying Vietnam's qualification to 2011 AFC Asian Cup, as the team finished third with only a single 3–1 home win over Lebanon[22] and two draws away to both Levant opponents Syria and Lebanon.

Vietnam participated in 2010, 2014 World Cup qualifiers and 2011, 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers, but were unsuccessful, as the team's shortcoming contributed to its early elimination.

The national team of Vietnam started to witness significant changes under the tenure of Toshiya Miura, who took charge of Vietnam from 2014 to 2016. The Japanese coach was accredited for rebuilding the national team of Vietnam after the failed 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification, and had a significant impact on the improvement of the team's performances. One of the most renowned achievement under Miura's era was with the youth team, when the Olympic side managed to cruise pass Olympic Iran, a major Asian force, at the 2014 Asian Games with an unthinkable 4–1 victory.[23] Many of these young players nurtured by coach Miura would be brought to senior side, where the team managed a fine performance in 2014 AFF Championship, but Vietnam failed to progress beyond the semi-finals after suffering a shock 2–4 defeat to Malaysia right at home,[24] in spite of winning 2–1 away before.[25] Vietnamese police had sought to investigate this match, but found no evidence of rigged bribery or corruption as also stated in the findings of Swiss-based international supplier betting services Sportradar.[26][27]

Miura led Vietnam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers when Vietnam was grouped together with Thailand, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Iraq; Indonesia later withdrew. Vietnam managed a fine performance, drawing Iraq 1–1 at home.[28] However, two disappointing defeats to Thailand away 0–1[29] and humiliating 0–3 home loss to the same opponent[30] had put the team under heavy criticism. Toshiya Miura, despite improvement, was sacked by the VFF after the Olympic side's failure to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics.[31]

Hope was put into new coach, Nguyễn Hữu Thắng, some of the first fine Vietnamese managers during the era. Under Thắng, Vietnam once again progressed to the semi-finals of 2016 AFF Championship, but the team had to bow down to Indonesia in another thrilling semi-finals, being held 2–2 at home[32] and previously lost 1–2 away to the same rival.[33] The team's disappointment somehow relieved a little, as the Golden Dragons participated in 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification for finishing third in their World Cup qualification group. The Vietnamese side managed two draws in their opening run against Afghanistan in Tajikistan[34] and a goalless draw to Jordan in Ho Chi Minh City.[35] However, the Olympic side was shockingly eliminated in the group stage of 2017 SEA Games, coach Nguyễn Hữu Thắng was relieved from duty, and the team faced a tremendous crisis of confidence as fans have lost their will to support the team.[36] Interim coach Mai Đức Chung was appointed to help Vietnam in two crucial Asian Cup qualification match against neighbour Cambodia, in which coach Chung was able to revive some of the team's lost spirit, beating Cambodia 2–1 away and a thrashing 5–0 win at home.[37] These wins allowed Vietnam to join top two for final tickets.

Văn Lâm

Đình Trọng

Duy Mạnh

Ngọc Hải

Trọng Hoàng

Văn Hậu

Huy
Hùng

Hùng
Dũng

Quang
Hải

Văn
Đức

Anh Đức

2018 AFF Championship champion second-leg finals starting line-up.[38]

Scenes during the quarter-finals of 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Clockwise from top: Vietnamese team with Japan at the cup quarter-finals and Vietnamese fans during the match.

Park Hang-seo, former assistant of Guus Hiddink during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, was appointed as new coach of Vietnam in 2017 after an attempt to negotiate with Takashi Sekizuka was unsuccessful; previously the VFF also tried contact with American manager Steve Sampson with no avail.[39] Upon his arrival to Vietnam, Park Hang-seo was greeted with skepticism and jeers from Vietnamese.[40]

Park's first match as coach of Vietnam was in the same 2019 Asian Cup qualification, where Vietnam held Afghanistan at home in a 0–0 draw, thus allowed Vietnam to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, their first ever Asian Cup since 2007.[41] Park himself, though, was criticized.[42] However, the mood changed after Vietnam’s performance in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship and 2018 Asian Games. Park Hang-seo was also coach of the U-23 and Olympic team.[43] With the same U-23 players, he formed the squad of Vietnamese senior in a meaningless 1–1 draw to Jordan in 2019 Asian Cup qualification, which both teams qualified together.[44] Also with these young players, the 2018 AFF Championship became Vietnam's second AFF Championship title. In Group A, Vietnam managed 3 victories against Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and a draw with Myanmar. In the semi-finals, they defeated the Philippines twice, and in the finals defeated Malaysia 3–2 aggregated, drawing 2–2 away and winning 1–0 home.[45]

But only the 2019 AFC Asian Cup that Vietnam truly began to gain international recognition. With entire of squad made up with the successful U-23 players, the youngest squad in the tournament, Vietnam beat Yemen in their final group matches to become the last best-fourth place team to qualify for the round of sixteen. Then, they surprised everyone by defeating favored Jordan which had previously defeated defending champions Australia and earlier played a friendly match against 2018 FIFA World Cup runners-up Croatia, winning 4–2 in penalty shoot-out.[46] The win sent million of Vietnamese into the street for celebrations.[47] In the quarter-finals, Vietnam met Japan but failed to continue the success after their opponent being awarded a penalty kick which being decided through the video assistant referee (VAR), resulting to a 0–1 score by Ritsu Doan until the final whistle being blown.[48]

Vietnam was grouped in the Joint 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualification group G with three other Southeast Asian rivals, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, along with United Arab Emirates. The Vietnamese started with a 0–0 away draw over Thailand[49] before defeating Malaysia 1–0 at home[50] and then achieving a 3–1 win against Indonesia.[51] In November, Vietnam faced up the United Arab Emirates at home soil with attempts to break 12-year winless streak to the opponent. In spite of facing struggle in early minutes, a following red card to the UAE gave the Vietnamese an advantage, eventually managed to beat the Emirates 1–0.[52] Then, Vietnam moved to a thrilling encounter against neighbor and fellow powerhouse Thailand at home, where both teams played out in another goalless draw, including a crucial Akinfeev-penalty save by Đặng Văn Lâm and two disallowed goals of Vietnamese side, to foster Vietnam's no.1 position in the Joint FIFA World Cup/Asian Cup qualification group G.[53]

Primary sponsors include: Honda Vietnam,[55] Yanmar,[56] Grand Sport,[57] Suzuki Vietnam,[58] Sony Vietnam,[59] Z.com,[60] VPMilk,[61] Vina Acecook,[62] Coca-Cola,[63] Vinamilk,[64] Kao Vietnam[65] and TNI Corporation.[66]

Unlike many national teams in the world, Vietnam is one of the few football teams to not feature their federation logo, but rather the national flag. The few other AFC members to not feature the logo includes Syria, North Korea, Singapore and Iraq; and is the only Southeast Asian team alongside Singapore to not feature the logo. Despite the country unveiling a logo for the national football team in 2017, the logo has yet to be incorporated on to the national jersey due to the majority of negative responses from fans, though it has been changing more toward a positive opinion.[67]

The national team of Vietnam has been known by several nicknames, the most commonly are "Rồng Vàng" (Golden Dragons) which is influenced from the history of Vietnam including the legend of Lạc Long Quân, the dragon King in Vietnamese folk story who gave the Vietnamese identity for his people, and also appeared in former emblems of Vietnamese dynasty as well as South Vietnam.[68] Another nickname is the "Những chiến binh sao Vàng" (Golden Star warriors) which is derived from the national flag of Vietnam.[69] The local media and people in Vietnam also refer the national team as simply as "Tuyển" (The Selection).[70]

Thailand is often considered as Vietnam's traditional and biggest rival. The matches between these two teams are always likened to the "El Classico" of Southeast Asian football and are followed with much interest in both countries. Vietnam as South Vietnam first faced Thailand at the 1959 Southeast Asian Games and won the 2 matches, in the group stage and the final. Despite currently having the better overall record compared with Thailand with 22 wins, 6 draws and 19 losses after 47 matches, Vietnam has generally poor results against Thailand since its reintegration into international football in 1991. After the match between two teams in November 2019 in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, Vietnam has faced Thailand in 24 matches at the national team level since 1991, the overall results being 3 wins, 6 draws and 15 losses. Despite this, Vietnam, since reintegration to world's football, is renowned for its performance that punching above the weight, while Thailand has struggled harder to do the same.

Vietnam's most memorable win against Thailand was in the final of the 2008 AFF Championship, when a 2–1 win in the first leg in Bangkok set them up for their first ever title, which they secured after a 1–1 draw in Hanoi.[76]

Vietnam has also developed a rivalry with Indonesia. They have faced each other in 37 matches, with Vietnam having the poorer record with 11 wins, 10 draws and 16 losses. During the 20-year period from 1999 to 2019, Vietnam only drew and lost against Indonesia in official tournaments. This series of winless matches began after the 1–0 win over Indonesia in 1999 in the semi-finals of the 1999 SEA Games, and lasted 12 matches, with 7 draws and 5 losses, and finally ended when Vietnam won 3–1 against Indonesia in October 2019 in the second round of the 2022 World Cup qualification in Indonesia, also the first-ever Vietnamese victory against Indonesia in the Indonesian territory at any football competitions and friendlies. During this period, Vietnam only won against Indonesia 3–2 in a friendly match in 2016.

While Singapore was still a force in the ASEAN football until 2012, this team was also a rival of Vietnam. They have faced each other in 39 matches, with Vietnam dominating with 21 wins, 13 draws and 5 losses. Since just rejoining with international football in 1991, Vietnam experienced, in the period from 1993 to 1998, poorer head-to-head record against Singapore; especially the failure in the 1998 AFF Championship final. However, since 1998, Vietnam has been maintaining a series of unbeaten matches against Singapore until now. It is worth noting that Vietnam's winning matches in this period against Singapore have never exceeded 1 goal and there were 6 out of the 12 matches that had drawn results, although Vietnam still won in the remaining 6 matches.

As South Vietnam, the Vietnamese side had a poorer performance, with only 3 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses, during that time the Malaysians posed as a formidable side in Asia. Since reintegration, however, Vietnam has overwhelmed in the head-to-head record against Malaysia with 12 wins, 3 draws and only 5 losses in 20 games since 1991. "Golden Dragon" has also been maintaining the series of unbeaten match against Malaysia since 2014.

Vietnam holds a spectacular distinction in the competition by having tendency of facing future finalists of the AFC Asian Cup, having implemented so in all four editions, with South Korea and Iraq emerged winners after facing Vietnam, and Japan finished runners-up.

AFC Asian Cup record										AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Result	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956	Fourth place	4/4	3	0	1	2	6	9		2	0	1	1	7	3
1960	Fourth place	4/4	3	0	0	3	2	12		2	2	0	0	5	1
1964 to 1972	See South Vietnam									See South Vietnam
1976 to 1992	Did not enter									Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify									3	2	0	1	13	5
2000										3	2	0	1	14	2
2004										6	3	0	3	8	13
2007	Quarter-finals	8/16	4	1	1	2	4	7		Host
2011	Did not qualify									6	1	2	3	6	11
2015										6	1	0	5	5	15
2019	Quarter-finals	8/24	5	1	1	3	5	7		12	4	5	3	16	11
2023	To be determined									In progress
Total	Best: Fourth place	4/17	15	2	3	10	17	35		40	15	8	17	74	61

AFC Asian Cup History
Season	Round	Opponent	Scores	Result	Venue
1956	Group stage	Hong Kong	2–2	Draw	Hong Kong
		Israel	1–2	Loss
		South Korea	3–5	Loss
1960	Group stage	South Korea	1–5	Loss	Seoul, South Korea
		Republic of China	0–2	Loss
		Israel	1–5	Loss
2007	Group stage	United Arab Emirates	2–0	Won	Hanoi, Vietnam
		Qatar	1–1	Draw
		Japan	1–4	Loss
	Quarter-finals	Iraq	0–2	Loss	Bangkok, Thailand
2019	Group stage	Iraq	2–3	Loss	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
		Iran	0–2	Loss
		Yemen	2–0	Won	Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
	Round of 16	Jordan	1–1 a.e.t (pens. 4–2)	Won	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
	Quarter-finals	Japan	0–1	Loss

Since 2002, the Asian Games Football tournament uses the Olympic team. See: Vietnam national Olympic football team

Asian Games record										Coach(es)
Year	Result	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Did not participate									Did not participate
1954 to 1974	See South Vietnam									See South Vietnam
1978 to 1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1998	Group stage	17/23	2	0	0	2	0	6		Alfred Riedl
Total	Best: Group Stage	1/13	2	0	0	2	0	6

Asian Games History
Season	Round	Opponent	Scores	Result	Venue
1998	Group stage	Turkmenistan	0–2	Loss	Nakhon Sawan, Thailand
		South Korea	0–4	Loss

Since 2001, the SEA games football competition uses the Olympic team. See: Vietnam national Olympic football team

Southeast Asian Games record										Coach(es)
Year	Result	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1959 to 1973	See South Vietnam									See South Vietnam
1975 to 1989	Did not enter									Did not enter
1991	Group stage	6/7	3	0	1	2	3	5		Nguyễn Sỹ Hiển
1993	Group stage	6/9	3	1	0	2	1	3		Trần Bình Sự
1995	Runners-up	2/10	6	4	0	2	10	8		Karl-Heinz Weigang
1997	Third place	3/10	6	3	1	2	9	6		Colin Murphy
1999	Runners-up	2/10	6	4	1	1	14	2		Alfred Riedl
Total	Best: Runners-up	5/20	24	12	3	9	37	24

Southeast Asian Games History
Season	Round	Opponent	Scores	Result	Venue
1991	Group stage	Philippines	2–2	Draw	Manila, Philippines
		Indonesia	0–1	Loss
		Malaysia	1–2	Loss
1995	Group stage	Malaysia	2–0	Won	Chiang Mai, Thailand
		Cambodia	4–0	Won
		Thailand	1–3	Loss
		Indonesia	1–0	Won
	Semi-finals	Myanmar	2–1	Won	Thailand
	Gold medal match	Thailand	0–4	Loss
1997	Group stage	Malaysia	0–1	Loss	Jakarta, Indonesia
		Indonesia	2–2	Draw
		Laos	2–1	Won
		Philippines	3–0	Won
	Semi-finals	Thailand	1–2	Loss
	Bronze medal match	Singapore	1–0	Won
1999	Group stage	Laos	9–0	Won	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
		Myanmar	2–0	Won
		Thailand	0–0	Draw
		Philippines	2–0	Won
	Semi-finals	Indonesia	1–0	Won
	Gold medal match	Thailand	0–2	Loss

The following 23 players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against United Arab Emirates on 14 November 2019 and against Thailand on 19 November 2019
Caps and goals are as of 19 November 2019 after the match against Thailand.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Nguyễn Tuấn Mạnh	(1990-07-31) 31 July 1990	4	0	SHB Đà Nẵng
18	1GK	Phạm Văn Cường	(1990-07-19) 19 July 1990	0	0	Quảng Nam
23	1GK	Đặng Văn Lâm	(1993-08-13) 13 August 1993	23	0	Muangthong United
2	2DF	Đỗ Duy Mạnh	(1996-09-29) 29 September 1996	27	1	Hà Nội
3	2DF	Quế Ngọc Hải (Captain)	(1993-05-15) 15 May 1993	46	3	Viettel
4	2DF	Bùi Tiến Dũng	(1995-10-02) 2 October 1995	24	0	Viettel
5	2DF	Đoàn Văn Hậu	(1999-04-19) 19 April 1999	23	0	Heerenveen
12	2DF	Lê Văn Đại	(1996-05-13) 13 May 1996	0	0	Thanh Hóa
17	2DF	Vũ Văn Thanh	(1996-04-14) 14 April 1996	18	2	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
21	2DF	Nguyễn Thành Chung	(1997-09-08) 8 September 1997	1	0	Hà Nội
7	3MF	Nguyễn Phong Hồng Duy	(1996-06-13) 13 June 1996	11	0	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
8	3MF	Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng	(1989-04-14) 14 April 1989	69	12	Viettel
14	3MF	Nguyễn Tuấn Anh	(1995-05-16) 16 May 1995	12	1	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
15	3MF	Phạm Đức Huy	(1995-01-20) 20 January 1995	11	2	Hà Nội
16	3MF	Đỗ Hùng Dũng (Vice-captain)	(1993-09-08) 8 September 1993	19	0	Hà Nội
19	3MF	Nguyễn Quang Hải	(1997-04-12) 12 April 1997	24	6	Hà Nội
20	3MF	Nguyễn Trọng Hùng	(1997-10-03) 3 October 1997	0	0	Thanh Hóa
9	4FW	Nguyễn Văn Toàn (3rd captain)	(1996-04-12) 12 April 1996	27	4	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
10	4FW	Nguyễn Công Phượng	(1995-01-21) 21 January 1995	35	98	Hồ Chí Minh City
11	4FW	Nguyễn Anh ĐứcRET	(1985-10-24) 24 October 1985	36	12	Becamex Bình Dương
13	4FW	Hà Minh Tuấn	(1991-01-01) 1 January 1991	0	0	Quảng Nam
22	4FW	Nguyễn Tiến Linh	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997	12	4	Becamex Bình Dương

The following players have also been called up to the Vietnam squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Trần Nguyên Mạnh	(1991-12-20) 20 December 1991	24	0	Viettel	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 INJ
DF	Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn	(1992-05-06) 6 May 1992	0	0	Hồ Chí Minh City	v.  Thailand, 19 November 2019 PRE
DF	Trần Văn Kiên	(1996-05-13) 13 May 1996	1	0	Hanoi FC	v.  United Arab Emirates, 14 November 2019 PRE
DF	Phạm Xuân Mạnh	(1996-02-09) 9 February 1996	1	0	Sông Lam Nghệ An	v.  United Arab Emirates, 14 November 2019 INJ
DF	A Hoàng	(1995-07-31) 31 July 1995	2	0	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 PRE
DF	Nguyễn Công Thành	(1991-07-26) 26 July 1991	0	0	Hồ Chí Minh City	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 PRE
DF	Đỗ Thanh Thịnh	(1998-08-18) 18 August 1998	0	0	SHB Đà Nẵng	v.  Thailand, 5 September 2019 PRE
DF	Lâm Anh Quang	(1991-04-24) 24 April 1991	0	0	Nam Định	v.  Thailand, 5 September 2019 PRE
MF	Nguyễn Huy Hùng	(1992-03-02) 2 March 1992	24	2	Quảng Nam	v.  Thailand, 19 November 2019 PRE
MF	Ngô Hoàng Thịnh	(1992-04-21) 21 April 1992	15	2	Hồ Chí Minh City	v.  United Arab Emirates, 14 November 2019 INJ
MF	Lương Xuân Trường	(1995-04-28) 28 April 1995	29	1	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 INJ
MF	Võ Huy Toàn	(1993-03-15) 15 March 1993	8	1	Hồ Chí Minh City	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 INJ
MF	Tô Văn Vũ	(1993-10-20) 20 October 1993	0	0	Becamex Bình Dương	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 PRE
MF	Đặng Anh Tuấn	(1994-08-01) 1 August 1994	0	0	SHB Đà Nẵng	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 PRE
FW	Ngân Văn Đại	(1992-02-09) 9 February 1992	2	0	Hà Nội	v.  United Arab Emirates, 14 November 2019 PRE
FW	Nguyễn Việt Phong	(1993-03-23) 23 March 1993	2	0	Viettel	v.  United Arab Emirates, 14 November 2019 PRE
FW	Mạc Hồng Quân	(1992-01-01) 1 January 1992	14	3	Than Quang Ninh	v.  Malaysia, 10 October 2019 INJ

Notes:

• ^[a] Withdrew from squad.
• ^SUS Player suspended.
• ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
• ^RET Retired from the national team.
• ^WD Player withdrew from the squad for non-injury related reasons.
• ^PRE Preliminary squad.

Coach Park Hang-seo, considered as the most successful coach in Vietnam football history with FIFA praising Vietnam's progress throughout his managerial career with the team especially following the junior team success in AFC U-23 Championship as Asian runners-up and Asian Games as well the senior team in AFF Championship and AFC Asian Cup.[77]

Coaches by years since 1991

As of 18 December 2019.

List of Vietnamese coaches[78]

Image	Name	Nationality	From	To	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%[nb 2]	Honours
	Park Hang-seo	South Korea	11 October 2017	Present	22	11	8	3	28	14	050.00	1 AFF Championship
	Mai Đức Chung (Interim)	Vietnam	27 August 2017	11 October 2017	2	2	0	0	7	1	100.00
	Nguyễn Hữu Thắng	Vietnam	3 March 2016	27 August 2017	16	8	6	2	15	14	050.00
	Toshiya Miura	Japan	8 May 2014	28 January 2016	14	7	3	4	12	8	050.00
	Hoàng Văn Phúc	Vietnam	16 May 2013	4 April 2014	3	1	0	2	1	3	033.33
	Nguyễn Văn Sỹ (Interim)	Vietnam	1 January 2013	16 May 2013	4	1	0	3	−	−	025.00
	Phan Thanh Hùng	Vietnam	1 September 2012	31 December 2012	14	5	5	4	12	10	035.71
	Mai Đức Chung (Interim)	Vietnam	21 February 2012	31 August 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	!—
	Falko Götz	Germany	1 June 2011	6 January 2012	5	3	0	2	15	6	060.00
	Henrique Calisto	Portugal	June 2008	1 March 2011	42	11	11	20	38	41	026.19	1 AFF Championship
	Alfred Riedl	Austria	2005	October 2007	23	8	8	7	29	27	034.78
	Trần Văn Khánh[79] (Interim)	Vietnam	12 December 2004	2005	1	1	0	0	3	0	100.00
	Edson Tavares	Brazil	22 March 2004	12 December 2004	11	4	1	6	18	15	036.36
	Nguyễn Thành Vinh (Interim)	Vietnam	January 2004	February 2004	1	0	0	1	0	5	000.00
	Alfred Riedl	Austria	January 2003	December 2003	7	3	0	4	8	13	042.86
	Henrique Calisto	Portugal	August 2002	December 2002	10	5	3	2	27	18	050.00
	Dido	Brazil	December 2000	25 September 2001	6	3	1	2	9	9	050.00
	Alfred Riedl	Austria	August 1998	2000	31	16	6	9	54	21	051.61
	Colin Murphy	England	October 1997	1998	6	3	1	2	9	6	050.00
	Lê Đình Chính (Interim)	Vietnam	1997	1997	1	0	0	1	0	4	000.00
	Trần Duy Long	Vietnam	1997	1997	5	0	0	5	2	17	000.00
	Karl-Heinz Weigang	Germany	1995	June 1997	17	9	2	6	37	33	052.94
	Edson Tavares	Brazil	1995	1995	1	1	0	0	1	0	100.00
	Trần Duy Long (Interim)	Vietnam	1994	1995	1	1	0	0	−	−	100.00
	Trần Bình Sự	Vietnam	1993	1993	11	2	0	9	5	21	018.18
	Nguyễn Sỹ Hiển	Vietnam	1993	1993	3	0	1	2	3	5	000.00
	Vũ Văn Tư	Vietnam	1991	1991	—	−	−	−	−	−	—