Coach Troussier warns his players before the U23 Asian qualifiers

On September 6, Group C of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers will kick off in Phu Tho. Coach Troussier and his team will compete for a ticket to the next round with Singapore, Yemen and Guam.

HLV Troussier cảnh báo học trò trước vòng loại U23 châu Á - Ảnh 1. — Coach Troussier remains cautious ahead of the 2024 AFC U23 qualifiers. Photo: VFF.

In this group, U23 Vietnam is rated higher but the French coach is still cautious.

"U23 Vietnam is the host so it is considered the strongest, but that is only in theory, on the field anything can happen.

Our goal is to qualify and we are looking forward to tomorrow's opening match," said coach Troussier.

Mr. Troussier also shared that although the team only gathered for a week, the preparation process of U23 Vietnam has been taking place since March.

"Since March 1, I have focused on working with about 70 players. U23 Vietnam has gone through many tournaments such as the Doha Cup, SEA Games, the FIFA Days training session in June and now the FIFA Days training session in September.

In addition, some U23 players were also promoted to use in June with the Vietnam team and now in the U23 Asian qualifiers in September.

Besides, this group of players and I have worked together for 5 years since 2018, when the players were only 17, 18 years old. They have absorbed the requirements I put forth. That is a huge advantage for us."

Regarding the upcoming tournament, the captain born in 1951 said that the Asian qualifying matches are an opportunity for the U23 players to score points to win a place in the national team.

"This is a tournament aiming for the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals and the 2024 Olympics. The Vietnamese U23 players also have great motivation to compete in the national team, especially in important friendly matches at the FIFA Days in October," coach Troussier analyzed.

Mr. Troussier also set the goal that U23 Vietnam needs to aim for continental goals.

"We are currently number 1 in Southeast Asia, but I came here not only to maintain this position, but also to help the players overcome the threshold and have a better breakthrough to reach out to Asia."

Returning to Group C of the 2024 AFC U23 qualifiers, Coach Troussier and his team will face U23 Guam (September 6), U23 Yemen (September 9) and U23 Singapore (September 12).

"We need to understand that training is just training, and philosophy is sometimes just words. Results are only shown through what is played on the field. The more players play, the more experience they will accumulate. Looking at the performance of the players on the field, the coaching staff can make appropriate adjustments.

Up to now, the players have understood and grasped the requirements in a basic way. When entering the official tournament, each match has a different nature, the approach to the match is different and before each match, a different squad needs to be prepared," said Coach Troussier.

Source