>>> Vietnam calls up 22 players to prepare for FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021
>>> What opportunities await Vietnam at FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021?
Five years ago, Vietnam were placed in the same group as Paraguay, Italy and Guatemala. They defeated Guatemala 4-2 in the opener, a result which ultimately sent them through as one of the best third-placed sides despite losing to Paraguay (7-1) and Italy (2-0).
Vietnam saw their fabulous campaign stopped in the round of 16 after a defeat against Russia, but were then awarded the Fair Play Award by FIFA in recognition of their impressive World Cup debut.
Tran Van Vu is one of the four remaining players from Vietnam’s 2016 World Cup squad, alongside Pham Duc Hoa, Le Quoc Nam and Nguyen Minh Tri. This year, they have been drawn against strong teams, with none other than five-time winners Brazil as well as Czech Republic and Panama, in Group D.
“Needless to say, we are in a hard group, and the opponents we are facing are stronger than those of Colombia 2016. But we are no longer newcomers and with our experience from the last Futsal World Cup, we are hoping that we can emulate our success of 2016,” the 31-year-old told FIFA.com.
With both Brazil and Czech Republic strongly favoured to progress from this group, Vietnam’s hopes lie on grabbing maximum points against Panama, Vu pointed out.
Vietnam futsal captain Tran Van Vu celebrates after scoring a goal. (Photo: VFF)
"Brazil are the undisputed No. 1 favourites and Czech Republic are very strong - they defeated Italy in qualification. But the Panama team are of the same level as us. Our coaching team will make suitable tactics against each side so we can achieve the best possible results.”
Vietnam recently left for a pre-World Cup overseas in Spain, where they are participating in a quartet tournament together with Japan, Guatemala and Spain from August 28 to 31. After concluding the competition, the Vietnamese team will play another international friendly against Cordoba Club from the Spanish futsal championship.
Vietnam are being coached by local Pham Minh Giang for the Lithuania World Cup 2021 instead of foreign coaches as previously. Under him, Vietnam have overcame Lebanon over two legs on away goals (0-0, 1-1) to successfully seal their return to the World Cup.
“Coach Pham has shown that he is a good coach to lead the team for the Futsal World Cup. Under him, the team have plenty of young players who have both good skills and thinking. As the captain, I want to support them through my experience and try to help the team achieve good results,” Vu affirmed.
As scheduled, Vietnam will kick-start their Group D campaign with a clash against Brazil on September 13 before taking on Panama and the Czech Republic on September 16 and 19, respectively.
