Coach Hoang Anh Tuan: 'Southeast Asian tournament is a challenge for young players'

Speaking at a press conference before the group stage of the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship on the afternoon of August 17, head coach Hoang Anh Tuan shared about the squad and preparations of the Vietnam U23 team.

“The U23 Vietnam team has many young players, with only 3 players aged 22. Most are 18, 19, 20, and there is a 17-year-old player. I hope the young players will have challenges and experience in this tournament. We hope the whole team will have a good tournament. The goal is nothing more than reaching the final match.”

The coach from Khanh Hoa added: “We came here as the defending champions. U23 Vietnam, like other teams, brought a very young force to participate in this tournament. The teams also pay attention to youth football and tournaments like this help to improve young players. I welcome the AFF to maintain this tournament to develop youth football in Southeast Asian countries and go further to the national team level. With our highest respect, we hope and wish our opponents in the same group, Laos, the Philippines and all the other teams to compete well, have the best performance and the tournament will be a great success.”

The 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will take place in Thailand from August 17 to 26. In the fourth edition of the tournament, a total of 10 teams will participate and be divided into 3 groups. U23 Vietnam will be in Group C with 2 opponents that are not highly rated, Laos and the Philippines.

Recently, in the last friendly match before the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, U23 Vietnam had a 1-1 draw with Bahrain but then lost on penalties. This is also one of the highly rated blue teams, having previously defeated U23 Thailand with a score of 0-2.

According to the schedule, the U23 Vietnam team will play their opening match against U23 Laos at 4:00 p.m. on August 20. Thus, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his players will have 3 more days to complete the final preparations.