Head coach Giustozzi Diego Raul believes in the competitiveness of the Vietnam team at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024
According to the draw results of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024, the Vietnam team is in the same group as hosts Thailand, Myanmar and China. This is a group that is considered quite favorable for head coach Giustozzi Diego Raul and his team. The Argentine coach also believes in the ability of the Vietnam team to compete with all opponents.
18/12/2023 17:02:07
Coach Giustozzi Diego Raul said: “We will face completely different opponents compared to the 2022 tournament. The most important thing is that since then, the Vietnam team has shown a lot of progress and ready to compete with all teams – something we were not capable of doing when we participated in the tournament 2 years ago. I was completely calm and confident even before the draw results, because now I have found the team I built and the Vietnam team gives me a lot of confidence.”
In terms of strength, Thailand is still the biggest opponent of the Vietnam team in Group A, followed by China – the team that has appeared 13 times at the final round. Although the Myanmar team has only won the right to compete at the final round for the second time, it has shown a lot of progress recently. Notably, at the 2022 AFF Futsal Championship, the Myanmar team not only won first place in the group with the participation of the Vietnam team but also made the Vietnam team struggle to win after the series. Brainstorming penalty in the third-place match. Evaluating the three opponents in the same group, coach Giustozzi Diego Raul said: “Thailand plays at home, historically they have always beaten us, but this time I have a very good feeling towards the Vietnam team. As for Myanmar, they once again proved that Southeast Asia is the most competitive region in Asia, and China is starting to develop a national tournament with foreign players and coaches. That makes the China team stronger.”
According to the plan, to prepare for the competition, the team will gather again in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-March 2024. During the training period, the team will be “tested” at the international futsal tournament organized by VFF, taking place from March 28 to March 31 with the participation of 3 quality guest teams expected to be New Zealand, Morocco and a team from the Asian region. “I have built the team’s playing style. The only thing that needs to be done in the near future is to plan for the 9-10 match schedule for the team and that will be very important. The whole team is starting to play the way I built it and that gives me a lot of confidence,” said coach Giustozzi Diego Raul.
The strategist who helped Argentina win the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup added: “When I first came to Vietnam to take on the position of head coach of the national futsal team, I worked a lot because the team was not mentally ready and haven’t gotten into the rhythm of playing the way I intended. However, up to this point we have made a lot of progress in those two aspects. Now when the team plays, I realize it’s my team. We have improved a lot individually and collectively. The upcoming 2024 Asian Futsal Cup have 5-6 very important opponents, but we are ready to compete with them.”
