U20 Vietnam went through a tiring journey to Saudi Arabia
Information from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the journey to West Asia of the national teams is always difficult when they have to go through long flights and transit in an intermediary country.
This training trip of the U20 Vietnam team this time is part of the preparation plan for the 2023 AFC U20 final round, which is no exception.
U20 Vietnam took a souvenir photo at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center before leaving for West Asia. Photo: VFF
Starting from Noi Bai airport by flight at 1:05 am on 15/2, U20 Vietnam spent more than 7 hours flight to Dubai (UAE) and transited here; before connecting to fly to Saudi Arabia.
After 1 hour and 15 minutes of flying, U20 Vietnam arrived at the first training point at regarding 13:30 pm on February 15, Vietnam time (ie regarding 9:30 am on February 15, Saudi Arabia time).
As noted, the time to go through immigration procedures is quite long plus having to go through a difficult journey before, so the U20 Vietnam members were quite tired when they arrived at the hotel at 3:30 pm. February 15 (Vietnam time)
It is easy to understand this feeling because the players have to spend the night on the plane and have to travel for a long time.
There is a significant time difference between Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Specifically, the time of Saudi Arabia is 4 hours from Vietnam time, so it is also an obstacle for teachers and coaches Hoang Anh Tuan in adapting to live and practice besides the difference in weather.
As planned, U20 Vietnam will have 4 days of training in Saudi Arabia. After the friendly match with the host U20 Saudi Arabia on February 18, the whole team will move back to the UAE to continue training and play a friendly match once morest Dubai FC on February 23.
U20 Vietnam was present in Saudi Arabia on the followingnoon of February 15. Photo: VFF
U20 Vietnam will stay to practice in the UAE until February 26 and will leave for Uzbekistan to attend the 2023 AFC U20 Championship, which will take place from March 1 to March 18.
At the 2023 AFC U20 Championship, Vietnam U20 team is in Group B with Iran U20, Australia U20 and Qatar U20. The venue of U20 Vietnam is the Istiqlol stadium in Fergana city, Uzbekistan.
“The two friendly matches mentioned above are the last “rehearsal” of Vietnam U20. Before arriving in Uzbekistan, we have three or four final days of preparation, perfecting the tactical pieces.
After February 20, U20 Vietnam will have a full army. Therefore, the match once morest Dubai FC is very important to help the coaching staff re-evaluate the personnel when there is a full force,” said coach Hoang Anh Tuan.
Regarding the force of U20 Vietnam Nan, following a training session on the morning of February 14 at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center (My Dinh, Hanoi), coach Hoang Anh Tuan announced a list of 30 Vietnamese U20 players who will attend. participated in training in the UAE, preparing for the AFC U20 Championship 2023.
Accordingly, the first 25 players to complete the domestic training phase on the list will leave for the UAE first with a 10-person coaching staff.
The remaining 5 players including Ho Van Cuong, Dinh Xuan Tien, Tran Nam Hai, Nguyen Phi Hoang, Bui Vi Hao will move to the UAE on February 19, following the fourth round of V.League 2023 ends.
