The 2022 U23 Southeast Asian tournament will open today, February 14. This is a playground for teams to prepare for men's football at the 31st SEA Games, taking place in Vietnam. Therefore, all teams do not focus on achievement goals, even highly rated teams such as U23 Malaysia or U23 Thailand.
"We are not a candidate for the championship. We consider the Southeast Asian U23 tournament as a test for the upcoming important tasks. I don't understand why people think we are the number 1 candidate for the championship, because U23 Malaysia will introduce some new faces," said coach Brad Maloney.
After U23 Indonesia withdrew at the last minute, U23 Malaysia is the team that is considered to have many opportunities to win the championship in Cambodia. Brad Maloney's side used their strongest squad, right at the right age, topping their group in the U23 Asian qualifiers late last year. However, the Australian strategist did not want to put pressure on his students, because the team's most important goal was the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, followed by the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers.
Thailand U23, the team in the same group as Vietnam U23, is also reserved and does not aim to win the championship. Thailand U23 is actually the U19 team, with 2 players aged 20 and 22 added. Therefore, coach Salvador Valero Garcia does not focus on achievements.
He said: "Our goal is to play well in this tournament. The Thai U23 squad is mainly made up of 19-year-old players, with only 2 players over 20 and 22, but we also face pressure because the team wants to do their job well. We use tournaments to prepare for other tournaments in the future. We want the players in the team to have the most experience. That is good for their future.
Similar to Thailand, U23 Myanmar also uses a squad with the core being the U19 team. Coach Velizar Popov said he had many difficulties when gathering forces for reasons outside his expertise. Therefore, the Bulgarian strategist hired a very realistic plan. He said: "Over the past 2 years, football activities in Myanmar have not gone smoothly, few tournaments have been held. Therefore, the players present in Cambodia are mainly in their U19 age group. In that situation, I only see this tournament as a foundation to prepare for the SEA Games in Vietnam. That is our main goal".
The host team U23 Cambodia has carefully prepared for the tournament in early 2022. The players have worked under the direct guidance of General Director Keisuke Honda. However, the Japanese player did not set a high target for his home team. Instead, he called on fans to come to the stadium in large numbers to cheer on the players.
