Star forward returns to Vietnam for vacation post 2023 J-League season

Phuong’s three-member family hung out with midfielder Vo Huy Toan, one of Phuong’s former teammates at the national U23 team and Ho Chi Minh City FC, and his family on Wednesday.

As he is playing for the Japanese football club Yokohama FC, Phuong’s most recent trip to Vietnam was in Sept. this year, when coach Philippe Troussier called him up for the national team. He also scored against Palestine in a Sept. 11 friendly match between Vietnam and the country, though his performance was called merely “acceptable” by Troussier.

Since going to Japan after the national team’s gathering in September, Phuong has not been called up again during the team’s subsequent training periods.

Many have expressed their doubts over the forward’s future as Phuong had limited game time since he joined Yokohama FC last year. His club has also been relegated from J1 League, the top tier of the Japanese association football league system and is set to compete in J2, the league’s second tier, in 2024.

Numerous experts and friends of the forward have advised him to return to Vietnam to gain more time on the pitch for a domestic club, though his contract with the Japanese club will not conclude until Jan. 2026. However, it is reported that Phuong wants to remain in Japan.

Phuong, 28, a product of the HAGL-Arsenal JMG Academy, used to be one of Vietnam’s most promising football talents.

He is the third Southeast Asian player in the J1 League after Thailand’s midfielders Chanathip Songkrasin and Supachok Sarachat, who joined Kawasaki Frontale and Consadole Sapporo football clubs respectively.