Coach Hoang Anh Tuan: 'Vietnam must reach the final of U23 Southeast Asia'
Vietnam brought to Thailand 26 players, of which only three players turned 22 years old: goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan, midfielder Vo Hoang Minh Khoa and striker Nguyen Minh Quang. The team is mainly players under 20 years old, of which the youngest is midfielder Nguyen Dang Duong - 17 years old.
However, with the position of the defending champion, coach Hoang Anh Tuan wants his students to leave a good impression. "We want young players to have challenges and experiences," Mr. Tuan said at a press conference before the noon tournament on August 17. "However, as the defending champion, there is no other way to at least go to the final."
The 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship has 10 teams divided into three groups. Vietnam is in Group C with Laos and the Philippines. The teams play in a round-robin, selecting the three group winners and the best second-place team to advance to the semi-finals. Vietnam is considered to be sure of the ticket to continue, but coach Hoang Anh Tuan is still cautious. He said that in the youth tournament, the team is rated as strong as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, as well as Laos and Timor Leste. "We respect every opponent and need to play at our best," he said.
Because the U23 team has many tournaments in the second half of 2023, the Vietnam Football Federation VFF decided to divide it into two teams. Accordingly, coach Hoang Anh Tuan led the second team, mainly U20 players, to attend the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and ASIAD 19, while coach Philippe Troussier led the main team to attend the 2024 Asian U23 qualifier.
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team joined forces from July 29, but it was not until August 13 that the full force was due to the fact that the clubs had not released their troops because the V-League, First and Second Divisions were still playing. On August 14, the team went to Thailand with a composition of 26 players. A day later, the friendly team drew 1-1 Bahrain in the two main innings before losing 3-5 in the penalty shootout.
The 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will be held in two cities of Rayong and Chonburi from August 17 to August 26. Vietnam competes in Rayong, nearly 200 km from Bangkok. The team will meet Laos and the Philippines on August 20 and August 22, respectively.
Goalkeepers (3): Tran Trung Kien (HAGL), Nguyen Van Viet (SLNA), Quan Van Chuan (Hanoi FC)
Defenders (6): Luong Duy Cuong, Le Van Ha (Da Nang), Le Nguyen Hoang (SLNA), Nguyen Manh Hung (Viettel), Nguyen Hong Phuc (Hoa Binh), Nguyen Ngoc Thang (Ha Tinh)
Midfielders (10): Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Dang Duong (Viettel), Dinh Xuan Tien, Tran Nam Hai (SLNA), Vo Hoang Minh Khoa (Binh Duong), Nguyen Phi Hoang (Da Nang), Nguyen Van Truong (Ha Noi). Noi FC), Nguyen Duc Viet (HAGL), Thai Ba Dat (PVF-CAND), Tran Ngoc Son (Nam Dinh)
Forwards (7): Pham Dinh Duy (Da Nang), Nguyen Huu Tuan (Viettel), Nguyen Quoc Viet (HAGL), Le Dinh Long Vu (SLNA), Bui Vi Hao (Binh Duong), Nguyen Minh Quang (Binh Thuan) ), Vu Minh Hieu (Cheon An).
