The two players who had to say goodbye to their teammates were goalkeeper Tran Van Luong and ala Ngo Ngoc Son. Although young goalkeeper Tran Van Luong showed a lot of progress, he still could not compete with experienced seniors like Ho Van Y or Pham Van Tu. Meanwhile, veteran ala Ngo Ngoc Son suffered an unfortunate injury and was forced to give up his position to another player.
During the training period before the 2024 Southeast Asian futsal tournament, the Vietnamese futsal team showed excellent performance when defeating the Australian team with a score of 5-3 in a friendly match in Thailand.
This is the team's second consecutive victory, after just defeating the reigning Thai futsal champion Hongyen Thakam with a score of 6-4.
Through these two friendly matches, coach Diego Giustozzi not only successfully tested his attacking options and team formation, but also helped his players get used to the pressure of high-intensity competition, thereby creating a favorable foundation for the team to enter the Southeast Asian futsal championship with the highest spirit and determination.
The 2024 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship will take place from November 2 to November 10 in Thailand. According to the draw results, the Vietnamese futsal team is in Group A with host Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Timor Leste. Meanwhile, Group B includes Indonesia, Myanmar, Australia and Cambodia.
The teams will compete in a round robin format to determine rankings in each group. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals.
According to coach Diego Raul Giustozzi, the futsal teams in Southeast Asia have all improved, so the competition is higher than before. However, the Vietnamese players have also changed and improved. "I believe the team will achieve the set goals, first of all, overcoming the challenge in the group stage," coach Diego Raul Giustozzi emphasized.
