Vietnam Olympic football team to play tournament in China

"The Vietnam Olympic football team, led by coach Philippe Troussier, will go to Sichuan to play the Panda Cup in mid-June with host China, Uzbekistan and Bahrain," a Vietnam Football Federation official told VnExpress Friday.

China is the host of 2022 Asian Games, but due to Covid-19, the event was moved to September 2023. To prepare for this tournament, the China Olympic team will go to Croatia for long-term training. Upon their return, they will compete in the Panda Cup.

In the 2018 Asian Games, Vietnam surprised everybody when they defeated Japan to top group D. The team then defeated Bahrain and Syria with the same score of 1-0 in the next two knockout rounds, before losing 1-3 in the semi-finals to South Korea, who went on to win the gold medal. In the bronze medal match, Vietnam lost 3-4 to UAE in the penalty shootout, after drawing 1-1 in official time.

Coach Troussier will lead the Vietnam Olympic team in the 2022 Asian Games. Due to the one-year delay, the organizers decided to increase the age limit of players to 24. This means that national team players born from January 1, 1999, such as Doan Van Hau, Bui Hoang Viet Anh and Nham Manh Dung, can still participate in the tournament.