Vietnamese players train on in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Photo: VNA)Thechampionship runs from February 14 to 26. Vietnam are in Group C with Thailandand Singapore. Group A has East Timor, the Philippines, Brunei and thehosts. Group B includes Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos.
Thetop team of each group and the second-placed team with the best results willadvance to the semi-finals.
"Likeother teams, Vietnam has also prepared pretty well for this competition," saidcoach Dinh The Nam.
"Wehave trained for a month. And we will target the highest possible place.
"Ihave confidence in the front line but the defence is not quite goodenough. Defenders are not totally focused and still lack confidence.
"Itis the first time playing internationally for some of my players. We must pushtheir confidence up, We still have several days to improve the teamahead of the first match."
Nam,who led Vietnam's U16 team to the Asian championship's quarter-finals in 2016,said the team will have to be at their best in every single match to advance tothe final.
Hesaid: "They are U21s and maybe not the best for this tournament. We arenot asking them to get the title but through the tournament, we will findplayers for the U23 team that will compete at the 31st SEA Games. And theseU21s will represent Vietnam at the 32nd Games in Cambodia in 2023."
Vietnamwill play their first match against Singapore on February 19 atthe Prince Stadium in Phnom Penh.
"Wewill also watch the match between Singapore and Thailand (on February 16) andtry to understand their playing style and find their weak points. And then, wewill have suitable tactics against both of them," Nam said.
DefenderDung Quang Nho also is hoping to last as long as possible in thetournament and play in the final.
Namadded: "Vietnam Football Federation does not expect for us to winthis championship. But we have still worked really hard without Tết holiday rest. We aim to play ourbest in all matches before going home."
Speakingat the briefing yesterday morning, Thailand coach Salvador Garcia said histeam, which includes players from the U19 squad, were at their best afterweeks of training.
Garciasaid the tournament would be a good chance for the youngsters who hopeto advance to the knockout stage.
Headded that they would first focus on the Singapore match before analysing Vietnamfor the next match.
CoachNazri Nasir of Singapore said his team is in tough group. He is missing some oftheir best players who could not join the team due to the COVID-19 pandemic.But Singapore prepared well for this event which is a warm-up of the SEAGames in May.
Priorto the briefing, organisers announced defending champion Indonesiawithdrew from the tournament because of the COVID-19 and injury problems.
FootballAssociation of Indonesia confirmed the decision not to participate after sevenplayers and one team official tested positive for coronavirus, with anotherfour members of the squad at risk after being in close contact from sharingrooms.
Inaddition, three other players -- Gunansar Mandowen, Ramai Rumakiek and MuhammadIqbal -- were already injury doubts heading into the tournament.
Earlier,coach Brad Maloney of Malaysia said his defender Muhammad Safwan Mazlanwould miss the first match against Myanmar on February 15 because of a positivetest result.
Vietnamlanded in Phnom Penh with 27 players who all tested negative.
AnotherVietnamese to work in Cambodia is referee Ngo Duy Lan.
Lan,37, is one of three FIFA-leveled officials of Vietnam and the only one whoreached the elite certificate, the highest stage in referee ranking./.
VNA
