The U19 Vietnamese team train in HCM City to prepare for the ASEAN U-19 Boys' Championship 2024 in Indonesia. — Photo VFF

Football

HÀ NỘI — The U19 Vietnamese team are ready for the ASEAN U-19 Boys' Championship 2024 in Indonesia.

Head coach Hứa Hiền Vinh has selected a squad of 23 players for the tournament, after removing defender Nguyễn Mạnh Hưng, striker Nguyễn Anh Tuấn and Czech-based midfielder Hồ Hữu Hưng from the initial roster.

The championship is scheduled to take place in Indonesia until 29. Việt Nam have been drawn in Group B and will play their opening match against Myanmar on July 18, followed by a fixture against Australia on July 21, before ending the group stage with a game against Laos on July 24.

Evaluating Việt Nam's group, coach Vinh said: " Việt Nam's group is relatively heavy. Australia won the championship in 2020, did not participate in 2022 and returned this time, so they are strong. In addition, Laos are also unknown, two years ago they won second place. Overall, the group is relatively competitive, but the Vietnamese team aim to get through the group stage to get to the semi-finals."

Midfielder Thái Bá Đạt expressed confidence in the team and said: "The opportunities are always divided equally among all teams, it's just that which ever team shows themselves better will win, Việt Nam is not afraid of any opponent."

This regional event will feature the application of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology for the first time in the history of the ASEAN U-19 tournament. While this is expected to improve the accuracy of referee decisions, coach Vinh has provided specific instructions to the players to avoid potential pitfalls, as Vietnamese football teams have often received unfavourable VAR decisions in the past.

The ASEAN tournament this year consists of 12 teams divided into three groups. The top three teams and the best second-placed team will progress to the semi-finals, with the two winning teams competing for the championship title and the losing semi-finalists playing for third place.

To prepare for the ASEAN event, the Vietnamese team recently participated in a friendly international tournament in China, where they faced hosts China, South Korea and Uzbekistan. VNS