"I will try to motivate my teammates to train harder as we are about to compete in AFC U23 qualification," Hai said.

The Hanoi FC player said he is not normally a talkative person, but now, wearing the captain armband, he will have to talk more, communicate more in training to make a connection and gain the trust of his teammates.

Nguyen Quang Hai at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, where Vietnam won silver.

"Being a captain also means being a motivator and a link between the coach and the players," Hai said.

Previously, Hai was the captain of U20 Vietnam in the U20 World Cup 2017.

The team will have two vice-captains: midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc and striker Tran Thanh Son.

The previous captain, midfielder Luong Xuan Truong, is now 24 years old.

Hai has been a key player of Vietnam, in both the youth and national teams. He has always been Park’s first choice for the midfielder role in big tournaments.

The 21-year-old Hanoi player rose to stardom with an impressive performance that helped Vietnam win silver at the AFC U23 Championship 2018. He was also with the national Olympics team as they finished fourth at the Asian Games and with the national team as they won the 2018 AFF Cup and made it to the quarterfinals of Asian Cup 2019. He was named best player at the AFF Cup and also voted as one that scored the best goal at Asian Cup.

In the qualification tournament for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship, Vietnam is placed in group K with Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand. Their first game with Brunei will kick off on March 22.

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Source: VnExpress