Star in the making: Michal Nguyen made a promising start in his first training session with the national team. — VNS Photo Quang Thang

HA NOI (VNS)— Two overseas players have slotted well into the national team set-up after their first training sessions with their new teammates ahead of the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Mac Hong Quan and Michal Nguyen, both from the Czech Republic, returned to Viet Nam earlier this week and to show their skills to the national coaching board.

Quan has officially been under consideration for some time, on the back of some remarkable performances for the under-22 team during the Asian championship's qualifying round last June, when he scored three goals.

He plays as a striker for Sparta Praha B, who are in the Czech second division. He has recently been invited to a trial with German giants Hetha Berlin.

Twenty-four-year-old Nguyen is still something of an unknown quantity, and is doing all he can now to win a place in the next team. He is from Banik Most FC and where he predominantly plays as a defender, but he is versatile and can double as a central midfielder.

His 1.84m height hands him an advantage and he put in some dominating performances during the first day training.

"I am still testing for the national team and nothing is certain but I am strongly confident that I would soon become an official player. I would not have returned to Viet Nam if I thought that I would not be selected," Nguyen said.

Viet Nam‘s caretaker coach, Hoang Van Phuc, declared himself satisfied with what his players, especially the two new additions, achieved in the first day.

However he emphasised that nothing is set in stone yet. "It is so early to talk about their future, although they showed good technique today. I will have to observe them in the coming days before making my final decision."

The national team will play three friendly matches before the Asian Cup qualifying games begin as preparation. The first one takes place today against V-League Vicem Hai Phong. On Monday they will play Ha Noi T&T and on January 31 they will test their skills against South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai Mipo Dolphin FC at Ha Noi Stadium.

Phuc hinted that Nguyen may start the first match in Hai Phong City. — VNS