The VFF’s General Secretary Lê Hoài Anh (right) gives the national team jersey to new head coach Giustozzi Diego Raul. Photo VFF

HCM City — Newly–appointed national team head coach Giustozzi Diego Raul is expected to lift Vietnamese futsal to new heights, starting with the 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup and then at the 2024 World Cup final.

Raul, of Argentine nationality and born in 1978, led his native country to win the 2016 Futsal World Cup in Colombia.

"My biggest wish and determination when coming to Việt Nam is that, by the time I leave, Vietnamese futsal is in a better place,” Raul said in a meeting with the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) in HCM City on Tuesday.

“Titles are very important, but the determination to win it depends not only on me but also on the players, as well as many other factors.

“I come to Việt Nam and will immediately start work because in six weeks we have to win at the Asian Futsal Cup. Then, we will work out a plan to develop the youth teams as well as how to better develop the domestic leagues," Raul added.

In recent years, Vietnamese futsal has made strong developments, participating in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia in 2016. The national team appeared at the World Cup again in 2021 under the guidance of coach Phạm Minh Giang. At both tournaments, Việt Nam reached the round of 16.

According to Trần Anh Tú, head of the futsal section of the VFF, to raise the level of the national team towards the goals set out, Việt Nam needs the support of the world's leading futsal experts. That is also the reason why the VFF decided to invite coach Raul.

To improve the quality of Vietnamese futsal, in addition to gradually professionalising domestic futsal clubs through participation in the AFC tournament system, the national futsal tournament will also strive to be organized in the home and away field format, instead of at a centralized location.

The Vietnamese team are currently training at the Thái Sơn Nam Gymnasium in HCM City until September 8.

Afterwards, the team will compete in an invitational tournament on September 9-17 in Thailand. Việt Nam will have the opportunity to face quality rivals such as Iran, Morocco, Finland, Angola and host Thailand.

On September 24, Việt Nam will go to Kuwait where they will compete in the AFC Futsal Cup, where they will face South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the last time's runners-up Japan. VNS