Vietnam’s national futsal team, coached by Miguel Rodrigo, have returned to training after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday in preparation for the most important tournament of the year, the 2019 AFF Futsal Championship, which also serves as the qualifiers for the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship.
In the list of 25 players summoned for the mission, the Spanish tactician continues to place trust in veteran faces, such as Minh Tri, That Phi, Van Vu and Ngoc Son. Nhan Gia Hung of the Cao Bang club is the only newbie.
As planned, the national squad will have 10 days of practicing and improving their fitness, skills and tactics in Ho Chi Minh City, before flying to Malaga, Spain, for training on February 22. During their stay in Rodrigo’s homeland, the “Golden Stars” will play three friendly matches with local clubs, including Real Betis FS (on February 27), UMA Antequera (on March 3) and Jaén Paraíso Interior (on March 6).
Notably, after the training course concludes, six prominent Vietnamese players will continue to stay in Spain until March 31 for the purpose of honing and improving their skills in three Spanish clubs, with Chau Doan Phat and Ho Van Y at the Peñíscola RehabMedic club; Ton That Phi and Dang Anh Tai at Jaén Paraíso Interior; and Nhan Gia Hung and Chu Van Tien at ElPozo Murcia.
“Regarding the three friendly clashes, I set the goal of winning at least one for my players. This will be a great opportunity for Vietnamese players to directly compete against Spain’s strong teams, thereby accumulating experience for the future,” said head coach Rodrigo.
“There is still one year left before the AFC campaign to secure the 2020 World Cup place begins, however, the Vietnamese squad must make preparations from the present time. I am satisfied and self-confident with the current generation of players. They have played many international matches, at both regional and continental levels, over recent times. It is a big advantage,” the Spanish tactician shared when touching on the goal of contending for one of Asia’s five berths to attend the 2020 World Cup in Lithuania.
The 2019 AFF Futsal Championship is scheduled to take place in Vietnam from October 21 to 27. Vietnam have been drawn in Group A, together with Thailand, Timor Leste and Cambodia. Group B consists of Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.
The four semifinalists of the tournament will book their places in the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship. Meanwhile, the top five teams of the continental event will qualify for the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania as the AFC representatives.
According to a report on Nhan Dan
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