Coach Philippe Troussier comments on the teams in Group D of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship

Coach Philippe Troussier said he believes the players of the Vietnam U23 team are confident enough to face the challenge at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals.

Coach Philippe Troussier and the Vietnam U23 team at the 2024 U23 Asia group stage. (Source: VFF)

The lucky draw put the U23 Vietnam team in Group D of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship with Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Malaysia. Sharing after the draw results, coach Philippe Troussier said that he respected the opponents in the same group.

VFF page quoted the French coach as saying: "For me, each group and each match brings its own challenges."

“We all know that this AFC U23 Championship is special for the teams in general and me in particular, because the tournament is also a qualifying round for the 2024 Olympic Games held in France.”

Commenting on the opponents, Mr. Troussier said: “In the same group as U23 Vietnam, Uzbekistan is theoretically considered the strongest team because they have often achieved good results in youth tournaments at the continental level in recent years.

I think Kuwait and Malaysia will be direct competitors for the ticket to pass the group stage with U23 Vietnam. But as I said, no match will be easy because they also have the same dream as us, which is to go as far as possible and have a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics."

The French strategist also affirmed: “With such continuous preparation and accumulation, I believe that the players and the entire team have the confidence and foundation to be ready to face the upcoming challenges. We still need to continue to improve to be fully ready to face the top opponents in the continent.”

The 2024 AFC U23 Championship will take place from April 15 to May 3, 2024 in Qatar, promising to be very tense as this is also the tournament to determine Asian representatives to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The three teams that finish first, second and third will qualify directly for France. The fourth-placed team will face a play-off against a representative from the Confederation of African Football for a place.

The Vietnam U23 team will begin their journey at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship with a match against the Kuwait U23 team.

Next, coach Philippe Troussier's team will face U23 Malaysia and close the group stage with a match against the strongest opponent, U23 Uzbekistan.

Source