According to coach Philippe Troussier, Uzbekistan is superior so Vietnam will compete directly with Malaysia and Kuwait for the remaining ticket to continue in Group D of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals.
According to the draw ceremony held in Qatar today, November 23, Vietnam is in Group D with Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Malaysia. This is considered an easy group for Coach Troussier and his team, especially when looking at the remaining teams in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is in Group A with host Qatar, Australia and Jordan, while Thailand is in Group C with defending champion Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Tajikistan.
"Vietnam is confident and ready to face the challenge at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals," coach Troussier told Vietnamese media tonight. "Of the three opponents in the same group with Vietnam, Uzbekistan is theoretically considered the strongest team because they have often achieved good results in youth tournaments at the continental level in recent years. Kuwait and Malaysia will be direct competitors for a ticket to the group stage with Vietnam. No match will be easy because they share the same dream as Vietnam, which is to go as far as possible and have a place in Paris 2024."
Coach Troussier directed the Vietnamese team in the 0-1 loss to Iraq at My Dinh Stadium on November 21. Photo: Lam Thoa
The teams will compete in a round robin format. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals. The two finalists and the winner of the third-place match will qualify for the 2024 Olympics in France. The fourth-placed team will play a play-off against an opponent from the Confederation of African Football. "Each group and each match brings its own challenges. We all know that this AFC U23 Championship final is special for the teams in general and for me personally, because the tournament is also a qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games in France," added coach Troussier.
Coach Troussier has prepared for the U23 Asian Cup early by regularly calling up young players to participate in training sessions with the national team in recent times. Among them, some players have performed well and have been able to play in the team's matches such as Phan Tuan Tai, Vo Minh Trong, Nguyen Thai Son, Nguyen Dinh Bac...
Vietnam, under the guidance of coach Park Hang-seo, reached the semi-finals of the AFC U23 Championship in 2018, a tournament that did not count towards an Olympic qualification. However, two years later, the South Korean coach and his team were eliminated from the group stage after drawing 0-0 with the UAE and Jordan before losing 1-2 to North Korea in the final match.
The last time the tournament was held in Uzbekistan, Vietnam were led by coach Gong OH-kyun. The team advanced through the group stage after drawing with Thailand (2-2), South Korea (1-1) and beating Malaysia (2-0), but were stopped in the quarterfinals after losing 0-2 to eventual champions Saudi Arabia.
Lam Thoa
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