French coach Philippe Troussier is confident of Vietnam's positive results at the 2024 AFC U23 Cup in Qatar. (Photo: VFF) Vietnam are in Group Dwith Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Malaysia, according to the result of a drawconducted by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) this week for 16 teams.
Group A consists ofQatar, Australia, Jordan and Indonesia, while Group B gathers Japan, theRepublic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates and China, and Group C bringstogether Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Thailand and Tajikistan.
The tournament, a ParisGames qualification, is slated for April 15-May 3 in four hostcities in the host country of the 22nd FIFA World Cup last year.
Vietnam were the firstteam to secure a spot in the finals. The team topped Group C with seven pointsin the qualifiers. Under Troussier, the team had a 6-0 victory over Guam andbeat Yemen 1-0 before drawing 2-2 with Singapore in a match of mere formalityas they had already secured the top spot.
This will be the fifthtime that Vietnam will compete in the Cup. Their best result was second placein the 2018 edition.
"To me, each groupand each rival brings different challenges," said Troussier, whorespected all rivals.
"We all know thatthe AFC U23 Cup Finals is special for all teams in generaland me in particular, because it is also a qualifier of the 2024Olympics held in France. Regarding the three opponents in the same groupwith Vietnam, Uzbekistan are theoretically considered the strongest teambecause they have regularly won good results at youth tournaments at thecontinental level in recent years.
"I think Kuwait andMalaysia will be direct rivals of Vietnam for the second place at the knockoutstage. But as I said, no match will be easy because they have the samedream as us, which is to go as far as possible and have a place at Paris2024," said Troussier.
The French tactician currently manages both the national seniorteam and the U23 squad. He has his advantages in watching his players' practiceand progress, and building plans for each side.
In preparation for the upcoming tournament, Troussier picked anumber of young players to train and compete with the national team at theWorld Cup qualification matches.
Among them, defenders Phan Tuan Tai and Vo Minh Trong,midfielder Nguyen Thai Son and striker Nguyen Dinh Bac receivedcomplimentary words from their coaches.
“I have worked with these U23 players for almost nine months.We have experienced many matches in different tournaments of different levels,including the tough and high-pressure World Cup qualifiers.
"With such good preparation and foundation, I believe theseplayers and the entire team will be confident to play at the upcoming Cup.
"We will continue to improve to be maximally ready againstthe continent's top opponents. Of course, in the remaining time, I willcoordinate closely with the Vietnam Football Federation to build up the bestplan for the tournament.”
In Qatar, teams will compete in round robin format in the groupstage. The two strongest ones will advance to the quarter-finals.
The top three finishers will qualify for the Paris Games, whilethe fourth-placed team will participate in a playoff against an opponent fromthe Confederation of African Football (CAF) for a chance to compete at theOlympics./.
VNA
