Vietnam - Guam: Waiting for news of great victory in the Asian U23 qualifiers
*Vietnam – Guam: 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 6, on MetaSports.
After the bronze medal at SEA Games 32, coach Troussier entered the second official tournament with U23 Vietnam. The draw results put the team in Group C with easy opponents, including Guam, Yemen and Singapore.
Guam is an island located in the Western Pacific Ocean with an area of about 541 km2 and a population of more than 160,000 people. This place has never been famous for sports, but is known for tourism, a key economic industry, and US military bases.
On the world football map, Guam is even more strange, when it comes to 203rd in the FIFA table - just above five other teams. They met the Vietnamese team twice in the Asian Cup qualifiers, losing 0-9 in 1996 and 0-11 respectively in 2000. Up to now, the big losses in official tournaments still cling to Guam and make it difficult for them. It is difficult to find strong opponents for official friendly matches.
In the Asian U23 arena, if Vietnam is a regular guest with five qualifying rounds and four finalists, this is the first time Guam has participated. Coach Dominic Gadia said he is happy with the change of the Federation, because only by regular contact with international tournaments will there be a chance for Guam youth football to develop, thereby providing elite products. for the national team.
Guam's force is a mixture of players in the domestic league, mature players from American school football and most notably midfielder Leon Morimoto playing for Temperley in the Argentine First Division. However, coach Dominic Gadia admitted that the overall level of the team is difficult to compare with Vietnam - the opponent has the best youth football development program in Asia and is gradually enjoying the results in recent years.
Vietnam is predicted to have a good start towards the goal of winning Group C and getting a ticket to the 2024 U23 Asian finals. Coach Philippe Troussier also aims to bring the players beyond the threshold to reach beyond the region. area, so the team needs to create a superiority instead of letting a barrier like Guam make it difficult.
