Futsal 

Vietnamese players practise in HCM City for the ASEAN Futsal Championship 2024 in Thailand next month. — Photos of VFF

HCM CITY — Coach Diego Giustozzi is confident that Việt Nam could win at the upcoming ASEAN Futsal Championship 2024 in Thailand next month.

Giustozzi and his players are in a training camp in HCM City for the annual tournament.

After a week of closely working together, the Argentinean coach said the regional futsal teams have showed strong progress, but Vietnamese players were all powerful. He predicted Vietnamese team would win the title for the first time in history.

The World Cup winning coach has called on a team of seniors, including Phạm Đức Hòa, Trần Thái Huy, Hồ Văn Ý, Nguyễn Mạnh Dũng and Châu Đoàn Phát, alongside younger players including Vũ Ngọc Ánh and Nguyễn Đa Hải.

He added that after Việt Nam failed to earn a slot at the Futsal World Cup 2024, the coaching board was forced to make changes, find new talent and seek out players who could improve the team's results for the next competitions, regardless of previous experience.

“Players picked this time are key members of their clubs and showed their good performance at the 2024 National Futsal Championship and their quality is good enough for the national team," said Giustozzi.

"Some coaches will give priority for players who have had international experience, but I don't. To me, a 20-year-old is at the same in level as a 30-year-old. When they are in the same environment of practising, they must work hard to find an official place in the final list."

Giustozzi added that Việt Nam's biggest weakness was in finishing, clearly seen at the Asian championship, which was also a World Cup qualification game.

Pivot Hải is a freshman of the team and along with his seniors Nguyễn Thịnh Phát and Đào Minh Quảng, Hải is expected to score for Việt Nam in Thailand.

"We could only score an average of one goal per match in the April event, a very small number for a team, which wanted to go further at such an important tournament. My coaching board and players will try harder and do our best during training. I believe my players will focus on issue and improve this weakness," Giustozzi said.  

Coach Diego Giustozzi believes in Việt Nam.

The 46-year-old coach said Việt Nam's tactics are better than many rivals that they played in the qualifier and so the results should be better, provided each individual player does his job better.

“I will have to lift the tactical mind for them. If every single player is better, the whole team will be better. Our tactic is to run out smooth," he said.

The ASEAN Futsal Championship 2024 will take place in Thailand from November 2-10, featuring nine teams divided into two groups.

Việt Nam are in Group A with Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Timor Leste. The two top teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

Việt Nam are ranked number 34 in the world, eighth in Asia and at number three in ASEAN. 

“I clearly know about our opponents. They have all made progress, not only Thailand but also Malaysia and Indonesia can be considered a concern. However, Vietnamese players have improved a lot since I worked here. I believe we are capable of defeating opponents in the group stage and the next round as well. We can win and we are ready to win," Giustozzi said.

"I know we will face difficulties because we have to play Thailand and Malaysia in the group stage. But we are ready to surprise. As long as the whole team are confident, practise hard and perform well on the court, we can make it."

The players will train until October 25, before heading to Thailand for an intensive training camp. There, they will play two friendly matches, one against Thailand's Hongyen Thakam Club on October 27 and the other against Australia's national team on October 29. — VNS