Coach Hoang Anh Tuan does not believe that Vietnamese football is out of date.

"We still have many talented players and deserve better results than last time," coach Hoang Anh Tuan said at the ceremony held at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

The 56-year-old coach rejected coach Shin Tae-yong's view that "Vietnam's golden generation is about to end" after three consecutive defeats against Indonesia in 2024 in the group stage of the Asian Cup and the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

According to Mr. Tuan, the generation of Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Hoang Duc, Doan Van Hau will still be the backbone of the national team, while U23 players like Phan Tuan Tai and Khuat Van Khang are ready to take over.

After VFF parted ways with coach Philippe Troussier due to poor performance, coach Hoang Anh Tuan was appointed to lead the U23 team to the U23 Asian Cup finals in Qatar. Mr. Tuan had a contract with VFF since 2022, with the task of selecting and coaching the national youth teams. When offered this time, he happily accepted, just like when he attended the U23 Asian Cup finals in 2023 and ASIAD 19.

Mr. Tuan said he has been talking to the players regularly to help them feel better after recent failures. He wants the players to put the past aside, and the future of Vietnamese football will begin with the U23 team with the slogan "never give up".

"We are starting from scratch, but it is not the expertise but the trust from the fans that is declining," he said. "The responsibility is heavy, but we are determined to work hard to achieve good results."

VFF does not set a high target even though this tournament is equivalent to the qualifying round for the 2024 Paris Olympics, instead requiring the team to play really well. However, coach Hoang Anh Tuan set himself the goal of getting past the group stage. In addition, he expects the players to mature and gain more experience, and at the same time, have new elements join the national team.

"No matter how difficult it is, we are determined to help Vietnamese football develop," said Mr. Tuan. "I hope that when someone succeeds Mr. Troussier, the team will have the best force from the current U23 generation."

The 2024 AFC U23 Championship will feature 16 teams divided into four groups. The teams will play a round robin to select the four winners and four runners-up to advance to the quarter-finals. The top three teams will officially qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The fourth-placed team will play an intercontinental play-off with the fourth-placed team from the African U23 Championship to compete for the remaining ticket.

Vietnam is in Group D, facing Kuwait on April 17, Malaysia on April 20 and Uzbekistan on April 23. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan assessed Kuwait as the biggest unknown, while Vietnam has faced Uzbekistan and Malaysia many times at many levels.

The team will gather tomorrow, April 5, before leaving for Qatar for training on April 8 and having another friendly match with Jordan on April 10. Before that, the team trained in Tajikistan and played two matches with the host, winning 1-0 and drawing 0-0 respectively.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan was born in 1968 in Khanh Hoa, and started coaching his hometown club in 2007 until 2012, then Hai Phong in 2013-2014. He is best remembered for leading youth teams from U17 to U23 Vietnam, including reaching the semi-finals of the 2016 U19 Asia Cup for the first time to win a ticket to the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup. In 2023, Mr. Tuan and his students won the U23 Southeast Asian Championship for the second time, but stopped in the group stage of the U20 Asia Cup and the 19th ASIAD.

By replacing Troussier, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan became the first domestic coach to lead the team to the AFC U23 Championship finals. In the last four tournaments, the coaches of Vietnam U23 were Toshiya Miura (2016), Park Hang-seo (2018, 2020) and Gong Oh-kyun (2022).