Coach Philippe Troussier and U22 Vietnam part ways and will reunite in June. (Source: VFF)

On May 17, U22 Vietnam returned home after finishing their journey at SEA Games 32 with a bronze medal in men's football.

The team departed from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City at 2:10 p.m., then split into groups to return to their clubs. Coach Troussier and the northern players arrived at Noi Bai airport at 8:15 p.m. the same day.

Before saying goodbye, the French coach gave the players words of encouragement, motivating the whole team towards the future ahead.

Coach Troussier told his players: "I believe what we learn from this tournament is your confidence. What you have done is a good premise for us to look forward to the future.

Now you will return to the club to prepare for the upcoming tournaments and I will always watch over you."

At SEA Games 32, U22 Vietnam won the first 3 matches in the group stage against Laos (2-0), Singapore (3-1), Malaysia (2-0) before drawing 1-1 with Thailand.

Coach Troussier's team entered the semi-finals in second place in Group B with the same 10 points as Thailand but with a lower goal difference.

In the semi-finals, U22 Vietnam lost to Indonesia with a score of 2-3. In this match, Coach Troussier's team had an extra player from the 60th minute. In the bronze medal match, Vietnam easily defeated Myanmar with a score of 3-1.

According to plan, U22 Vietnam will gather again in June to participate in the international friendly tournament Panda Cup in China.

This is a youth football tournament held annually since 2014. After two years of interruption due to Covid-19, this year the Panda Cup was restarted with the participation of 4 U22 teams, including host China, Bahrain, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

This tournament is considered a useful practice for U22 Vietnam in preparation for the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers and the 19th Asian Games taking place in September.