Cao Pendant Quang Vinh: 'It would be meaningless if Vietnam took naturalized players who were not qualified'

What if the Vietnamese team takes an overseas Vietnamese or a naturalized foreign player who is not qualified? According to Cao Pendant Quang Vinh, that would be meaningless.

Cao Pendant Quang Vinh's regret

Cao Pendant Quang Vinh shared: "My debut match for the Vietnam national team unfortunately did not go as I had originally envisioned. We lost 0-4 to Malaysia , in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Disappointing. Any player would feel the same way as me, especially when it was the first match for the national team. But that's football. After a defeat, you have to see the lesson, stand up, move on, improve and mature.

In fact, at the beginning of the match between Vietnam and Malaysia, I felt that this was a difficult match for the home team. Because the situation and the way the Vietnamese team played were not the same as the way we had practiced. I would like to emphasize that during the preparation period for the match, the team practiced very well. We applied reasonable tactics, strategies and ways of playing."

Cao Pendant Quang Vinh (shirt number 13) is the newest member of the Vietnam national team.

Photo: VFF

'The team trained very well but when it came to competition...'

" But the confidence in training did not come through at Bukit Jalil. In front of me, there were a series of long balls going forward. I thought to myself: 'Oh, why is this happening? This is not the way we have practiced before.' From that moment, I thought this match was going to be difficult for Vietnam.

The psychological issue is what I regret here. I know that Malaysia has transformed, with Malaysian players playing in Europe and South America being naturalized. That could cause the players to panic and choose to play long balls. But that choice is really not suitable. Van Vi and Ngoc Quang - the two players in our attack line are not tall," Cao Pendant Quang Vinh commented.

Should we naturalize players en masse: Lessons from other football backgrounds?

He continued: "Of course, the Malaysian defenders could easily handle it thanks to their size advantage. That's why Malaysia controlled the game. We always had to move to win the ball back. In the first half, Vietnam was still strong. But in the second half, the players started to lose strength. From then on, the Vietnamese team conceded goals. There was a bit of fear in the mentality of some players when having to play against a Malaysia that had changed a lot, with a group of good players playing in Europe or South America.

I believe that if we adjust the way we play and apply the right tactics like in training, the result of the match may be different. Anyway, I still believe that the Vietnamese players are at a good level or better. And the opportunity to defeat Malaysia in the rematch is completely possible. After that match, I know that on social networks, many opinions say that the Vietnamese team needs more naturalized players to increase its strength. For me, this story is 50-50. This opinion is not wrong but it needs to be true to the actual situation of Vietnamese football."

It would be pointless to take unqualified naturalized foreign players.

Cao Pendant Quang Vinh asked and answered himself: " What would happen if the national team took an overseas Vietnamese or a naturalized foreign player who was not qualified? That would be meaningless for the Vietnamese team at that time. The matter of choosing naturalized players, whether of Vietnamese origin or foreign players, needs to be carefully considered. In my opinion, if Vietnamese football really wants to develop, it should focus on its own internal strength before choosing to naturalize players to serve the national team.

I completely agree with the viewpoint of the Vietnam Football Federation. That is, we need to patiently develop the country's football resources and add a certain number of naturalized players. Of course, success will not come immediately. That could be a story of 5-10 years. There are things that Vietnamese football needs to overcome immediately. I appreciate the determination, physical strength and very high intensity of competition in the V-League."

Cao Pendant Quang Vinh plays very well for CAHN Club

"A player in Singapore in general or Lion City Sailors Club in particular can only be in the top 10 when playing in V-League. It is difficult for players in Singapore to immediately adapt to the harshness of V-League. But the problem is that some teams choose to waste time, even very early.

Like in the first leg, when I had only been at the Hanoi Police Club for a few weeks, I was surprised to see a team choose to waste time right after scoring in the 20th minute. At that time, I was really shocked by that match. The pitch is also something that Vietnamese football needs to pay attention to. One club was asked to play at another stadium because their pitch was not up to standard. That shows that there is still a lot of work to be done.

I also hope that the pace of the V-League matches will be more regular and smooth. If you see in the Southeast Asian Club Championship, the referees often do not blow the whistle continuously. I hope that the referees in the V.League can learn from that.

Finally, I believe in the progress of Vietnamese football, step by step. Vietnamese football has many talented players. You see, assistant Thanh Luong is a famous player of this country. He has guided Quang Hai's generation. And now, Quang Hai himself has helped younger players. With the PVF center alone, where I often practice with the Hanoi Police Club, I see young players with great potential, hard-working and diligent. I believe in their future, in Vietnamese football," Cao Pendant Quang Vinh affirmed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cao-pendant-quang-vinh-se-vo-nghia-neu-viet-nam-lay-cau-thu-nhap-tich-khong-du-trinh-185250626114336393.htm