The tournament is scheduled to take place at Phu Tho Gymnasium from October 21 to 27, with eight teams divided into two groups of four. Vietnam have been drawn against Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia in Group B, while Group A is made up of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Timor Leste.
The participants will play in a round robin format to decide the top two teams from each group to advance to the semifinals. Particularly, the AFF tournament also serves as a qualification event for the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship, with the three best teams, instead of four as previously, booking their place in next year’s continental showpiece.
“This is a tough group with strong opponents, but I want Vietnam to win the full nine points and then make it through to the final,” Rodrigo told reporters during a press conference on October 20.
“We had three weeks to prepare for the tournament, including one training camp in Thailand with two friendly games. We are now ready to fight,” the Spanish tactician stated.
In the opening match this afternoon (Oct. 21), Vietnam will play Australia, who are considered the favourites for Group B’s top spot. Australia’s head coach, Robert Valera, also expressed great confidence in their chance to advance further, although they did not attend any international tournaments over the past two years.
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Australia’s head coach, Robert Valera, speaks at the press conference. (Photo: VFF)
“The Australian team and I are very happy to return to the AFF Championship. We had about four weeks to make preparations. We also target to win nine points in the group stage and secure a place in the 2020 AFC Championship,” Valera said.
He highly appreciated the Vietnamese squad, stating that the opener against the hosts would be an extremely tough game for the Australian side.
“Many players in our squad are making their debut in the national team and have little experience. Difficult as the Vietnam clash may be, we will perform our best. I hope Australia will be able to score points in this game”.
For their part, Malaysia coach Chen Chun Yong and Indonesia coach Saynan Karmadi both expressed their ambition to secure one of the two semifinal places in Group B.
