Coach Hoang Anh Tuan: 'We are ready for the opening match of the U23 Asian Cup on April 17'

On the afternoon of April 16 (Vietnam time), the press conference before the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Kuwait in Group D of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship took place. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan shared about the preparations and goals of U23 Vietnam before entering the tournament.

"We are very happy to be here, to be challenged in the Asian level tournament. In 2018 in China, U23 Vietnam reached the final with U23 Uzbekistan and only lost 0-1. That does not mean that the other teams in the group, U23 Kuwait, U23 Malaysia are weak. We respect our opponents. U23 Vietnam's preparation is complete. We are focusing on the match tomorrow, April 17," coach Hoang Anh Tuan said in his opening speech.

When asked about the pressure on the U23 Vietnam team in this tournament, the coach from Khanh Hoa said: "We are the youngest team in the tournament. This is a tournament for the future. I told the players this is a big challenge for you, for your future. You are playing against strong opponents, it is a very good opportunity. You need to focus, dedicate everything you have. My players are ready. The preparation of U23 Vietnam is complete. I remind the players that all opponents are big lessons for you. Focus to have a good performance and gain lessons for the future."

Evaluating this group, coach Hoang Anh Tuan said: "There are no weak teams in this group. The first match is not easy. We have finished preparing and focused on tomorrow's match against U23 Kuwait. We cannot say anything about the result yet. We have to wait another 24 hours to see how the team performs. I hope both teams play well."

Meanwhile, coach Peixe of the Kuwait U23 team sent his best wishes to all four teams. He added: "Being here is a great experience. It's good to have the opportunity to face strong teams. We want to have fun so we will do our best to move on."

Mr. Peixe of U23 Kuwait also assessed U23 Vietnam as a strong opponent: "Tomorrow we will face a strong team, U23 Vietnam. We know they have just changed their coach, but U23 Vietnam is still a strong team. My players are very excited and ready to compete for a chance to play. Hopefully we will play well."

The 2024 AFC U23 Championship will take place in Qatar from April 15 to May 3. Vietnam U23 is in Group D with Uzbekistan U23, Kuwait U23 and Malaysia U23. According to the schedule, Vietnam U23 will play their opening match against Kuwait U23 on April 17, Malaysia U23 on April 20 and Uzbekistan U23 on April 23.