Football

Newly-appointed Hoàng Anh Tuấn instructs his U23 players. — Photo of VFF

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Football Federation officially appointed Hoàng Anh Tuấn as head coach of the national U23 football squad on March 28.

Tuấn replaces former manager Phillippe Troussier, who agreed to end his 3.5-year contract with the national football governing body after poor results in the last year.

After the appointment, Tuấn will have two weeks working with his players in preparation for the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup in Qatar.

Previously, Tuấn was a scout and head coach of the U20 team, which included talented Nguyễn Quang Hải and Nguyễn Hoàng Đức, winning a slot at the 2017 U20 World Cup.

He was also the coach of the U23 team that won the historic silver medal at the Asian Championship in 2018.

In recent years, Tuấn, 55, has been working with youth teams. He took the U20s to compete at the Asian championship and the Asian Games in 2023.

Last August, under Tuấn, the U23 Việt Nam team successfully won the Southeast Asian championship, beating Indonesia 6-5 on penalty kicks in the final in Thailand.

In the Qatar Asian tournament from April 15 to May 3, Việt Nam is in Group D with Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Malaysia.

Vietnamese players who joined training camps with the national team during recent FIFA Days secured one win and one draw against Tajikistan during their intensive training course in March in Dushanbe.

They will be summoned in Hà Nội from May 4. Three days later, they will leave for Doha where they will train and have a friendly match with Jordan. — VNS