The Vietnamese national football team are ready for the AFC Asian Cup finals in January. (Photo: thanhnien.vn) In an article released by the AFC, they highlight the advantages of havingTroussier guiding the Vietnamese team, a coach with previous AFC Asian Cupsuccess.
The AFC believes that Vietnam, with their quarter-final appearances in 2007 and2019, possesses the quality and experience to challenge the best teams in Asia.
Vietnam have made significant progress in recent years, establishing themselvesas a prominent force in Southeast Asia alongside Thailand. Their quarter-finalappearance in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup was followed by successful qualificationfor the third round of the World Cup qualifiers, marking their first-ever entryinto this stage.
Although Park Hang-seo, who played a pivotal role in Vietnam’s rise, is nolonger with the team, Troussier's proven record as a winner is seen as a valuableasset by the AFC.
Despite being drawn into Group D, which includes Japan (whom Troussier coachedto the 2000 AFC Asian Cup title) along with regional rivals Indonesia and Iraq,both of whom have defeated Vietnam in recent encounters, Vietnam are considereda team to watch in the upcoming tournament, according to the AFC article.
The national team will face Japan on January 14 at Al ThumamaStadium, Indonesia on January 19 at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium and Iraq onJanuary 24 at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
The 2023 Asian Cup features 24 teams, including seven formerchampions, divided into six groups, with a round-robin format within eachgroup. The top two teams from each group, as well as the four best-performingthird-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.
In the 2019 Asian Cup, under the guidance of coach Park Hang-seo,Việt Nam advanced to the knockout round as one of the best third-placed teams,eventually losing 1-0 to Japan in the quarter-finals.
The finals of the tournament will take place in Qatar from January12 to February 10, 2024, promising an exciting and captivating spectacle.
Earlier, China was initially slated to host the event, but due tothe COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was eventually awarded to Qatar./.
VNA
