Laos coach: ‘Trying to find young players to catch up with Vietnamese and Thai football’

“We respect every opponent. U.23 Laos You need to perform well in every match. Currently, the players are playing relatively well on the basis of counter-attack tactics. LIVE SEA Games 31we don’t aim to win a medal.

I just want to calculate through each match, and at the same time, I want the players to accumulate experience and clearly show their play,” said coach Michael Weiss of Laos U.23 at a press conference at noon on May 6 at Nam Cuong Hotel. (Nam Dinh)

Coach Michael Weiss of Laos U.23 team VUONG ANH

U.23 Laos has just reached the semi-finals of U.23 Southeast Asia 2022. LFF

In Group B, Laos U.23 is in the same group as Thailandmalaysia, Singapore and Cambodia. The last time Laos U.23 passed the group stage took place 13 years ago, at the 2009 SEA Games held at home.

Soccer Laotian youth are showing progress. At the 2022 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament taking place in Cambodia, U.23 Laos won U.23 Malaysia twice in the group stage to win the right to the semi-finals. The team of millions of elephants then only stopped in front of Thailand U.23.

U.23 Laos has played better in the past time. However, coach Michael Weiss still thinks that Lao football needs more talented young players to catch up with the stature of Vietnam and Thailand.

“I’m still looking for more young players to catch up with Thailand and Vietnam. We often use younger players in tournaments to help them learn from experience. We also want to bring in players. The goal of Lao football is to reach the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup”, coach Wiess revealed.

Coach Michael LFF

On May 6, sharing in the press conference before the 31st SEA Games, coach Nazri Nasir of U.23 Singapore also appreciate the competitors in Group B.

“We have a good preparation, but it is not the best. I am missing some players like Fandi who did not attend because the club did not release people. Group B has the presence of many strong opponents, such as: U.23 Thailand, U.23 Malaysia. U.23 Laos and Cambodia U.23 also remarkable. The chance to advance will be divided equally among the teams.

In the previous tournament, we didn’t play well because many players got sick Covid-19, making the squad very weak in that league, so the other players were given a chance as well. This time, we were better prepared, I had more of the players I wanted.

I will give more players the chance to play. As a coach, I trust the players I choose. They will be very hungry to express themselves. We have not changed our goal of reaching the semi-finals”, coach Nazri Nasir of U.23 Singapore confirm.

The match between U.23 Laos and U.23 Singapore at 4:00 pm on May 7 and the match between U.23 Thailand and U.23 Malaysia at 19:00 pm, both on Thien Truong yard.