Following HAGL's 2-1 victory over Ninh Binh in V-League 2025-2026 round 13, coach Le Quang Trai addressed questions about Tran Trung Kien, the club's number one goalkeeper. He expressed concern for his player, born in 2003, after a challenging period at the U23 Asia 2026 finals.

Goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien trains with HAGL at Pleiku stadium on 30/1/2026. *Photo: HAGL*

At the tournament in 1/, Vietnam had a dream start, defeating formidable opponents like Jordan, host Saudi Arabia in the group stage, and UAE in the quarter-finals. Trung Kien and his teammates were highly anticipated to replicate their 2018 final appearance, but unexpectedly suffered a significant 0-3 loss to China in the semi-finals.

"The defeat to China deeply saddened the Vietnamese players, as they missed the chance to reach the U23 Asia final," coach Quang Trai stated after the match at Ninh Binh stadium on the afternoon of 7/2. "Trung Kien suffered from insomnia and lost weight rapidly. When he returned to HAGL, I checked, and he had lost 8 kg."

HAGL's head coach viewed this as a concerning sign and proactively suggested that Trung Kien take a break from training to recover his physical and mental well-being. However, the 23-year-old goalkeeper declined. "Trung Kien affirmed he would set aside the disappointment to dedicate himself fully to HAGL," Mr. Trai said. "That is good news because he is one of the team's most important players and has performed excellently since the start of the season."

Tran Trung Kien, originally from Hung Yen, was born and raised in Pleiku, Gia Lai. Despite not coming from a sporting family, he rapidly developed through youth tournaments after joining the HAGL academy. After loan spells at Dong Nai and Cong an Nhan dan in the First Division to gain experience, he returned in 2024, playing a crucial role in HAGL's first U21 National Championship title. Since then, he has consistently been the first-choice goalkeeper for HAGL's senior team.

Under coach Kim Sang-sik, Trung Kien was called up to the national team and was part of the squad that won the ASEAN Cup 2024, serving as the third-choice goalkeeper behind senior players Dinh Trieu and Filip Nguyen. At the U23 level, he was the number one goalkeeper when Vietnam won the U23 Southeast Asia 2025 championship and a gold medal at SEA Games 33.

Throughout the U23 Asia 2026 tournament, Trung Kien was the starting goalkeeper until the semi-final match against China. In total, the goalkeeper made 16 saves, the second-highest tally in the tournament, surpassed only by China's Li Hao. Goalkeeper Cao Van Binh started the third-place playoff match, which Vietnam won against South Korea.

After the U23 tournament, Trung Kien returned to HAGL, continuing to start the two most recent V-League matches. HAGL secured 1-0 and 2-1 victories against Da Nang and Ninh Binh respectively, with the only goal conceded coming from a challenging free-kick by Geovane Magno.

Hieu Luong