Vietnam Olympic football team gear up for ASIAD 19

However, coach Hoang Anh Tuan does not have many options in selecting players as many Olympic players are now competing in the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers as members of the Vietnam U23 team. The regulations of the ASIAD 19 Organising Committee, which requires that each team can register a maximum of 30 players and the preliminary list must be submitted four months before the tournament, also limit the choices.  

As a result, half of the team can only show up for training after the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers wrap up on September 12. This means the team will have only about four days to practice with all the players before leaving for ASIAD 19 on September 16.

In China, coach Hoang Anh Tuan will have two more days to complete the final preparation before the team play their first match on September 19.

In the first phase of training at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, the Vietnam Olympic team had only 12 players, among whom two players, goalkeeper Do Sy Huy and striker Nham Manh Dung, are over 23 years old.

The men's football competition at ASIAD 19 consists of 23 teams, divided into six groups, with five groups containing four teams each and one group having only three teams. The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed teams will qualify for round of 16.

The Vietnam national Olympic team have been drawn in Group B, and they are due to play Mongolia on September 19, Iran on September 21, and Saudi Arabia on September 24.

ASIAD 19 will take place in Hangzhou city from September 23-October 8. Some football matches will start before the opening ceremony to ensure the schedule is met.