JapanNguyen Cong Phuong did not make much of an impression and left the field in the middle of the second half, when Yokohama FC won on penalties against Fagiano Okayama in the second round of J-League Levain Cup 2024 on the afternoon of April 24.
Cong Phuong plays as an attacking midfielder, along with Mizuki Arai and Salomon Sakuragawa to form a trident in the Yokohama attack.
The Vietnamese striker’s biggest impression came in the second minute when he had a chance to shoot from the left wing in the penalty area but was blocked by Fagiano Okayama’s goalkeeper. He was also given five corner kicks, including a hanging ball in the 52nd minute, but Salomon Sakuragawa touched the ball lightly for the home goalkeeper to catch.
At minute 20, Cong Phuong received a yellow card after an excessive foul. In the 68th minute, he left the field to make way for Brazilian midfielder Caprini. This is the first starting match of the striker born in 1995 since joining the Japanese club in early 2023. The match also marked the second time Cong Phuong played in an official match for Yokohama, after 386 days. – since the 2-3 loss to Nagoya Grampus on April 5, also in the J-League Cup. In that match, Cong Phuong could only enter the field from the second half stoppage time and had about two minutes on the field.
Cong Phuong warms up before the Okayama match.
In this match, host Okayama opened the scoring in the 15th minute thanks to Yudai Tanaka. In the 42nd minute, Hinata Ogura equalized 1-1 with a beautiful long-range shot from about 25 meters, before Solomon put the away team ahead for the first time in the 55th minute. Five minutes later, Takaya Kimura brought the match back into balance. equaling 2-2, forcing the two teams to enter extra time.
Yudai Tanaka continued to shine with a low shot into the left corner of the penalty area to score in the 93rd minute. But Caprini once again equalized the score in the 107th minute. In the penalty shootout, Yokohama FC successfully completed all five kicks. . Meanwhile, the home team missed in the third round with Yuji Wakasa’s shot into the left corner being blocked by goalkeeper Kengo Nagai. In the end, Yokohama FC won 5-3 to enter the third round of the J-League Cup against Nagoya Grampus on May 22.
Cong Phuong wears shirt number 28, on Yokohama’s competition registration list.
Cong Phuong starting against Fagiano Okayama is in the coaching staff’s calculations. According to coach Shuhei Yomoda, the J-League Cup is an opportunity for players who have had little chance to compete in recent times. “I hope they take advantage of the opportunity to become part of the collective,” he told the site Tagrma before the match. “We want to develop young players, while raising the standard of reserve players.”
Previously, head coach Yokohama had a private discussion with Cong Phuong at the training session on April 18. He discussed with him the playing position and asked him to follow the instructions correctly. In response, Cong Phuong affirmed that if he could compete, he would try his best.
Cong Phuong’s preferred playing position is wing striker or attacking midfielder. But he also played central midfielder at HAGL in 2021 – coach Kiatisuk’s first season in charge. Meanwhile, coach Shuhei Yomoda also asked Cong Phuong to play as a defensive midfielder or box-to-box. Phuong affirmed that there is no problem if he has to play in this position because he understands the job, but he also did not hide his desire to play in the attack.
Cong Phuong discussed with coach Shuhei Yomoda at Yokohama FC’s training session on April 18. Image: HM
In the 2024 season, Yokohama FC competes in J-League 2 after not playing well in J-League 1 2023 and having to be relegated. After 11 rounds, Cong Phuong has not been registered on the list to compete in any match.
Yokohama FC aims to return to J-League 1 next season. Currently, the team ranks fourth in J-League 2 with 18 points, six points behind second place team V-Varen Nagasaki. According to the rules, the champion and runner-up team of J-League 2 will win official promotion tickets. The teams ranked third to sixth will be divided into play-off pairs to compete for the remaining ticket.
Cong Phuong is in his second season at Yokohama FC but has not been able to break into the main team. His contract with the club lasts until the end of the 2026 season.
Cong Phuong is the second Vietnamese player playing abroad at this time, next to Huynh Nhu of Lank FC in the Portuguese national women’s football championship. Previously, the 29-year-old striker played for foreign teams such as Mito Hollyhock (Japan) in 2016, Incheon United (Korea) in 2019 and Saint Truiden (Belgium) in the 2019-2020 season. But all of them left no mark.
Hieu Luong
