Speaking at a press conference before the tournament held on the afternoon of April 11, coach Cristiano Roland thanked the host country Indonesia's organizers for their thoughtful reception, and said that the team had 10 days of training in Hanoi before departing to participate in the tournament.
According to the assessment of the Brazilian strategist, the group of U17 Vietnam has many similarities with the previous qualifying round, gathering opponents with high professional quality and promising many challenges.
We know this is a very difficult group with strong teams. However, the whole team always approaches in their own way, which is to focus on solving each match one by one and try our best in each match," coach Cristiano Roland emphasized.
Besides the immediate competition goals, coach Cristiano Roland also shared more about the development orientation of the young force of Vietnamese football. According to him, the current generation of players has been prepared early, including many players born in 2010 who are gradually growing up and accumulating competition experience.
Notably, some young players born in 2008 have had the opportunity to play in the V.League, even score goals, showing the positive development potential of the successor force.
Commenting on the journey ahead, coach Cristiano Roland said that the U17 Vietnam team is still in the process of perfecting their expertise. In the context that the preparation time is not long, the coaching staff continues to maintain the approach applied in the qualifying round, while focusing maximally on each specific match.
We are in a strong group, but the whole team will try our best. Through each match, the players will mature and improve," he shared.
Besides professional factors, coach Cristiano Roland especially emphasized the role of competitive psychology. According to him, the coaching staff always focuses on creating confidence for the players, and at the same time requires the whole team to maintain high concentration and self-confidence before each match.
Moving towards specific goals, especially the opening match, will help the team have the best preparation," coach Cristiano Roland said.
