Zimbabwe in for Thailand at coming Agribank Cup
Defending champions Thailand will not participate in the 4th annual Agribank Cup this year, though tournament organisers are still promising a thrilling…
The competition, which is scheduled for November 1-5 at My Dinh National Stadium, will include the national squad and U23 teams from Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe and Finland .
“Although Thailand can not take part, I believe the three visiting sides will be worthy opponents for Viet Nam. They will be a hard test for the national team before the SEA Games,” said Tran Quoc Tuan, general secretary of the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF).
Thailand withdrew because the tournament coincides with qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup.
Finland may not be well known on the global stage, but its U23 team is a junior league powerhouse.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan performed remarkably well in June”s AFC Asian Cup with a 5-0 victory over Malaysia and 3-0 over China.
Zimbabwe will replace Thailand. The African team, which won the Cosafa Cup in 2000, 2003 and 2005, will be a dark horse.
The four teams will play in round robin, with the winner taking US$40,000 in prize money. Second and third will receive $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.
Viet Nam won the Agribank Cup in 2005.
At the press conference on Monday, Agribank signed a contract to support the tournament until 2009. The total value of the deal was not released.
“In the last three years, the Agribank Cup has proven to be a major event for the Vietnamese national team,” said Vu Quang Vinh, VFF deputy chairman.
“The tournament plays key role in developing football in the country. This year”s Cup is even more important when we consider it a prelude to the Southeast Asian Games [SEA Games].”
Viet Nam”s head coach Alfred Riedl has called up three new faces for the Cup: Quang Hai, Huu Phuoc and Trong Hoang. Riedl wants to give the young players some international experience ahead of the SEA Games.
Nguyen Minh Chuyen returns to the squad after recovering from a knee injury and will supply major support in the midfield.
The squad will gather at the National Sports and Physical Training Centre No 1 in Ha Noi tomorrow. They have nearly a week before their first match against Uzbekistan at 18.30 hours local time next Thursday.
Their second match three days later will be against Zimbabwe. Viet Nam plays Finland on November 5.
Select matches will be aired live on Viet Nam Television. Tickets will be available atwww.Aleale.com.vn beginning tomorrow and through agents three days later.
VNS
