Vietnam U23s to feature at friendly Doha Cup 2023

The Vietnamese U23 team are set to showcase their style under new coach Philippe Troussier at Doha Cup 2023 friendly tournament, which will be held in Qatar from March 22-28.

The tournament will feature eight Asian teams, including the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Thailand, Vietnam and the hosts Qatar.

For the Vietnamese team, the tournament will be a crucial warm-up for the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May. With the squad gearing up for these high-profile events, their performance in Doha will be closely watched by football enthusiasts and experts alike.

Newly-appointed coach Troussier is looking forward to taking charge at his first tournament.

"I hope my players are not worried about making mistakes at Doha Cup. When the team makes mistakes, they will know what they need to correct, which helps them gain more experience and they won't make the same mistakes again,” said French coach Troussier.

“There will be a belief that the Vietnamese team must win, but what I'm looking forward to seeing is ways to win,” Troussier added.

Troussier named many outstanding players for the U23 squad, including several players he led during his time with the U19 team. He has also given opportunities to players performing well in the V.League 1 and the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U20 Asian Cup finals in Uzbekistan.

The draw for the event will be held in early March, with each team competing in three matches, similar to the U23 Dubai Cup 2022.

At the Dubai Cup 2022, Vietnam finished ninth among a total of 10 participating teams after recording a goalless draw against Iraq and losing to Croatia and Uzbekistan with a score of 1-0.