Vietnam U.23 will compete with Singapore U.23, Yemen U.23 and Guam U.23 in the 2024 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers, taking place from September 6 to September 12 at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho). The opponents in Group C are considered to be suitable for coach Philippe Troussier's students. With the current strength of Vietnam U.23, the goal is not simply to win a ticket to the AFC U.23 Championship for the 5th consecutive time, but also to aim for good results in the final round, building the next generation for the Vietnam team.

In other words, U.23 Vietnam is a "buffer zone" for Mr. Troussier to bring young talents to the Vietnam national team. And as a buffer zone, Coach Troussier's youth team needs to discover new factors to train for the national team.

The key to finding a star in a young team is ensuring a high level of competition, even fierce competition, to keep players working hard. Diamonds are made under pressure, and a high-pressure environment will forge a generation of strong and mature players.

At the 32nd SEA Games, U.23 Vietnam finished third overall after 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. The advantage of the team coached by Mr. Troussier is that they have somewhat demonstrated the idea of ​​ball control, although they have not really mastered it. The players boldly play their own way, progress the ball through coordinated groups, and control the ball coherently,... In addition, Coach Troussier has also found key players. They are goalkeeper Van Chuan, central defender Tuan Tai, wing duo Minh Trong and Van Cuong, central midfielder Thai Son, or strikers Minh Tung, Van Do, Thanh Nhan.

This is the lineup that has featured in all six matches. Coach Troussier has adjusted some positions based on his players' performance charts, or changed them to suit his tactics.

However, the problem of U.23 Vietnam at SEA Games 32 is the gap between the main and reserve squads, and the number of players who can maintain consistent performance throughout can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Coach Troussier does not have many quality options. The players he trusts are mostly on the bench in the V-League, and if they play as main players, they are only at first-class level.

The relatively thin competition at SEA Games 32 is understandable, when coach Troussier at that time had only 2 months to work to do 2 things at the same time: selecting players and building a playing style.

Four months after the 32nd SEA Games, Coach Troussier had time to observe the entire picture of Vietnamese youth football. Before the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, the French coach observed the performance of the Vietnam U23 team led by Coach Hoang Anh Tuan in the Southeast Asian U23 tournament, thereby selecting 10 players suitable for the playing style.

Mr. Troussier also had a sideline training session 9 days ago, when he called up 20 faces to form the U.23 Vietnam selection team. Only 6 players remained, combined with 10 players who had just won the Southeast Asian championship and old faces at the SEA Games to form a force to prepare for the 2024 U.23 Asian tournament.

That means, Coach Troussier still maintains the presence of the mainstay group at the SEA Games, but has called up many new factors to create competitive pressure.

At the 32nd SEA Games, the trio of central defenders Duy Cuong, Tien Long, and Tuan Tai were the top priority, but their declining form pushed Duy Cuong and Tien Long out of the starting lineup, replaced by Quang Thinh and Ngoc Thang. Coach Troussier is ready to replace and rotate the lineup continuously so that the 11 starting players are the best players with the best form.

When there is a strong enough force with similar skills, the "White Witch" can filter, no player is untouchable.

24 years ago, Coach Troussier screened and "reformed" Japanese football from the U.20, U.23 teams to the national team. Only 6 out of 23 Japanese U.20 players who reached the final of the 1999 U.20 World Cup were promoted to the Japanese U.23 team. And only 6 out of 23 Japanese U.23 players later joined the national team. Those were fierce screenings, but thanks to that, the Japanese team was able to pass the group stage of the World Cup for the first time (in 2002).

Coach Troussier's harshness is the necessary catalyst to push U.23 Vietnam to a new level.

VFF sells tickets to watch U.23 on September 3 at Viet Tri Stadium

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) also announced ticket prices for the matches of the Vietnam U.23 team in the Asian U.23 qualifiers at Viet Tri Stadium, with the following denominations: 50,000 VND, 100,000 VND and 200,000 VND/ticket. Tickets will be sold directly at the counter at Viet Tri Stadium from 9am on September 3 to September 12, or ticket sales may end earlier in case tickets run out.

Group C of the U.23 Asian qualifiers includes 6 matches, held in 3 sessions. Each ticket will be allowed to watch 1 session, including 2 matches.