The head coaches of U23 Singapore, U23 Yemen and U23 Guam all gave compliments to host U23 Vietnam, before the opening match of Group C of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers.
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| Vietnam U23 coach Philippe Troussier (wearing glasses) and coaches of the teams in Group C of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers. (Source: VFF) |
Coach Nishigaya Takayuki of Singapore U23 shared at a press conference before the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers: "I received the team from the recent SEA Games and I respect all opponents. U23 Vietnam is strong and is the host. So are the other teams. Every match is not easy and is equally important.
We did not participate in the U23 Southeast Asian tournament because the tournament was not part of the FIFA Days so the team could not gather.
I want to have the strongest team if I want to participate. To participate in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, we had to temporarily stop our domestic tournament to come here.
Most of my players are versatile and can play in 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 formations depending on the opponent. We will observe the actual situation to come up with the best lineup."
The opponent considered to compete for the top spot in Group C with U23 Vietnam is U23 Yemen. Head coach Miroslav Soukup of this team said: "I just want to say this is an interesting group. U23 Vietnam is a strong team as they have just become the champions of Southeast Asia, so this is definitely a difficult group.
I am building the squad for next year but the players are also ready to look to the future. Every game is very open and I wish the team the best performance and a ticket to the finals in Qatar."
U23 Guam coach Dominic Gadia expressed his determination to create a surprise: "In terms of preparation, this is the first time U23 Guam has participated in the U23 Asian tournament. Therefore, I want to create a foundation for the team and what I aim for is to gain something from each match to prepare for the future.
I have researched as much as possible and analyzed the matches of U23 Vietnam as much as possible. They have prepared well and have had a lot of success recently.
I respect U23 Vietnam. Based on the analysis and some young players returning from the US, I also want to create opportunities for them to show their skills in this tournament. This is the first time I have worked with them. This is a challenge but also an opportunity for these players to show their skills."
The opening match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Guam will take place at 7pm on September 6 at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho). Before that, the match between U23 Singapore and U23 Yemen will take place at 4pm.
The 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers will feature 43 teams, divided into 11 groups (10 groups of four and one group of three). At the end of the qualifiers, the 11 group winners and the four best runners-up will qualify for the finals in Qatar.
The top three teams in the finals will qualify for the 2024 Olympic men's football event in Paris, France. The fourth-placed team will play a play-off against Guinea, the African representative, for a place in Paris.
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