Indonesia's Presence Makes Vietnam Ragu Can Win The 2024 AFF Cup

Vietnam conducts a training camp in South Korea for the 2024 AFF Cup (doc. Vietnamnews).

JAKARTA - Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Tran Anh Tu, admitted that he was hesitant to set a winning target for his team when competing in the 2024 AFF Cup, December 2024. This cannot be separated from the presence of the Indonesian and Thai national teams who are still big rivals.

This doubt arose because Vietnam had known how the Indonesian national team had continued to develop recently.

The Golden Stars should be vigilant, especially now that the Indonesian national team has several naturalized and abroad players who are also on Shin Tae-yong's list of selected players.

In the 2024 AFF Cup, Vietnam is indeed targeting to enter the top party to open up opportunities to become champions. In preparation, they are also conducting a training camp (TC) for a long time in South Korea.

The agenda is inseparable from the target of The Golden Stars in the 2024 AFF Cup. As a form of seriousness, VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu was even appointed as team leader to guard Vietnam in the tournament.

When escorting the team, Tran Anh Tu claimed that the VFF Executive Committee had dissected Vietnam's strength as a whole.

"The VFF Executive Committee dissects a lot about the expertise of the Vietnam team," said Tran Anh Tu, quoted from The Thao 247 on Thursday, November 28, 2024.

Although he is aware that his team has high targets and seriousness, there are doubts that include Tran. This is because he is aware of the existence of two strong competing teams, namely, Indonesia and Thailand.

"With this AFF Cup, our goal is to continue to reach the final even though it is difficult. You see, Indonesia has many naturalized players and Thailand is also very strong," said Tran.

When playing the group phase of the 2024 AFF Cup, Vietnam will indeed meet Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos in Group B. Meanwhile, Thailand is in Group A with Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Timor Leste.

The 2024 AFF Cup tournament takes place in a home-temple format starting from December 8, 2024 to January 5, 2025. With the remaining time, Tran revealed that Vietnam continues to hone its strength.

He also hopes that a wealth of experience from coach Kim Sang Sik who becomes the captain can bring Vietnam to realize their target in the 2024 AFF Cup.

"The Vietnam team has about three weeks of training time. The coaching staff set out to increase their physical strength."

"The team's physical strength is currently not guaranteed, many individuals do not meet the requirements. Some Vietnamese players have gathered recently because they are busy competing in Asian club competitions," said Tran.

"Through the matches played, coach Kim Sang Sik learned a lot of experience to make the best preparation. VFF sets the goal of reaching the final," he said again.