According to an announcement by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the Vietnam U23 team will begin training on March 13th at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. On March 17th, the entire team will travel to Tajikistan. There, the Vietnam U23 team will play two friendly matches against the Tajikistan U23 team on March 20th and 23rd, 2024.
In the past, Vietnamese youth football teams have rarely faced Tajikistan. The most recent encounter was when the Vietnam U22 team played a friendly match against the Tajikistan U22 team in the UAE in 2021. At that time, the Vietnam U22 team was coached by South Korean coach Kim Han-yoon. Xuan Tu gave Vietnam U22 the lead in the 82nd minute, but unfortunately, the defense made mistakes in the final minutes, allowing Tajikistan U22 to hold them to a 1-1 draw.
Schedule for the friendly match between Vietnam U.23 and Tajikistan U.23
On March 11th, the list of 24 players for the Vietnam U23 team was also announced. PVF-CAND contributed the most players with 4. Hanoi Police Club and SLNA followed with 3 players each. Prominent players who have brought much success to Vietnamese youth football recently, such as Van Chuan, Quang Thinh, Ngoc Thang, Duy Cuong, and Quoc Viet, are still included.
Outstanding striker Quoc Viet (number 14) is still included.
One player who has received a lot of attention in this training camp is Hoang Vinh Nguyen. The midfielder, born in 2002, was previously sent to Cadiz (a team playing in La Liga - Spain) for training. Upon returning to Ho Chi Minh City FC, Hoang Vinh Nguyen also had a positive performance, starting in two of the "Red Battleship's" victories in the V-League 2023-2024 against Binh Dinh and Binh Duong .
Besides Hoang Vinh Nguyen, his teammate at Ho Chi Minh City FC, Bui Ngoc Long, was also called up. In 2021, Ngoc Long was sent to Japan by Saigon FC to "study abroad" at Azul Claro Numazu (a team playing in J-League 3) and had three quite impressive matches.
Vinh Nguyen is a player who has received a lot of attention.
Ngoc Long (in the blue shirt) also used to play soccer in Japan.
Notably, during their tour to Tajikistan, the Vietnam U23 team will not be coached by Troussier. The 68-year-old coach will lead the Vietnamese national team in two crucial matches against Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on March 21st and 26th respectively. Instead, Troussier's assistant, coach Moulay Lahsen, will take charge. However, their coaching styles will not differ significantly, as Coach Moulay Lahsen has worked with Troussier since 2018.
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) considers the Tajikistan U23 team a suitable opponent and the perfect fit for the Vietnam U23 team to prepare for the U23 Asian Championship, which will take place from April 15 to May 3, 2024. Vietnam U23 is in Group D with opponents Kuwait U23, Uzbekistan U23, and Malaysia U23.
Vietnam U23 will play their opening match against Kuwait U23 at 10:30 PM (Vietnam time) on April 17th at the Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium. This will be followed by matches against Malaysia U23 (8:00 PM on April 20th) and Uzbekistan U23 (10:30 PM on April 23rd). Both of Vietnam U23's final group stage matches will take place at the Khalifa Stadium.
Vietnam U.23's Asian Championship schedule
Experts believe this group is a good fit for the Vietnam U23 team. Besides the superior Uzbekistan U23 team, the Vietnam U23 team is at a similar level to the Kuwait and Malaysia U23 teams. In the 2022 AFC U23 Championship, the Vietnam U23 team, under the guidance of coach Gong Oh-kyun, performed very well and reached the quarterfinals.
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