Coach Troussier set a goal of attending the 2024 Olympics
The preparation of the U23 team started in March with the initial results of the 32nd SEA Games bronze medal and the U23 Southeast Asia championship. Coach Philippe Troussier said he has worked with about 70 players, many of whom have been with him since the U19 period in 2019-2020 and have now been imbued with the philosophy.
"I am preparing for the way to the U23 Asian finals and the Olympic Games," coach Troussier said at a press conference before the 2024 Asian U23 qualifier in Phu Tho. "The players still have to compete for a place in the national team in October."
In the qualifying round, Vietnam is the host of Group C with Guam, Yemen and Singapore. Vietnam is considered the strongest, but the French coach thinks that is theoretical, but in reality it will be more difficult. He wants the players to show the best of what they have practiced to surpass the threshold. "We have the number one position in Southeast Asia," Mr. Troussier said. "But when I came here, my mission was to motivate the players to reach beyond the region to the world."
Vietnam's goal is to win Group C to join 15 other teams in the final round in Qatar next year. To attend the Paris Olympics, Vietnam must at least reach the semi-finals. If they win third place or higher, the team has a ticket to go straight and fourth place will play a play-off with the African representative, Guinea.
Vietnam kicks off their opening match at Viet Tri Stadium at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, September 6, against Guam - the first team participating in the U23 Asian arena. Coach Dominic Gadia does not care about the results but aims to build a foundation for the future. "I have researched as much as I can about Vietnam so I have a lot of respect," Mr. Gadia said. "We have players born in America and this is an opportunity for them to show their ability."
Before that, Yemen will face Singapore at 4:00 p.m. Coaches of both teams rated Vietnam as the strongest in the group but affirmed that surprises still happen often. "Opportunities are divided equally between teams and whoever performs best will have a ticket to Qatar," said Yemen coach Miroslav Soukup.
