Vietnam's U23 players practise for a friendly match against Myanmar on June 7 in Phu Tho province's Viet Tri stadium. (Photo vietbao.vn) Phu Tho (VNA) – Myanmar’scoach Velizar Popov said Vietnam were the favourites for the SoutheastAsian Games in the Philippines this November.
The Bulgarian coach praised Vietnamat a press briefing ahead of a friendly match between Vietnamese andMyanmar U23 teams at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho province on June 7.
Popov said he had researched andwatched clips of Vietnam’s football. Despite there being other strongteams such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, he personally considered Vietnamthe best in the region.
He said his Myanmar team mustovercome this match if they wanted to progress at the SEA Games. Thefriendly would a good chance for him and the team to gauge if they were ina position to vie for a medal at the biennial sporting event.
However, the 43-year-old coachdid not reveal much about his team, saying football was a team sport so it wasdifficult to single out certain players. It was better for them to show whatthey had on the pitch.
Myanmar captain Win NaingTun also attended the briefing, and praised Vietnam midfielder NguyenQuang Hai and defender Doan Van Hau and said he regretted theywould not be taking part in the friendly because they were withthe national team at the King’s Cup in Thailand.
On the host side, coach Nguyen VanDan said the match would be interesting because it was a chance for them toshow their ability apart from their thirst for victory.
“It might be a friendly match,but both two sides are determined as it is a key warm-up for the SEAGames. Vietnam have prepared well for this match and we are ready to play agood game and please our supporters,” Dan said.
Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dungsaid he was happy to be named captain of the team and hoped he would begiven a chance to compete.
The game will kick off at8pm and will be aired live on VTC News.-VNA
VNA
