Coach Diego Giustozzi confident in securing World Cup spot with Vietnam futsal team

At the press conference before the 2026 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship held this afternoon on April 5 in Thailand, Coach Diego Giustozzi stated: "This is my first time working in Asia. The initial period was quite challenging, but now I understand my players better after working with them for some time. Over the past 1-2 years, we have improved psychologically, changed our playing style approach, and are moving in the right direction in our plan to compete for a World Cup spot at the upcoming Asian finals."

Our team is young and needs more matches to mature. I am satisfied with the progress of the players as well as the support from the Vietnam Football Federation. I myself am focusing 100% on the goal of securing a spot for the 2028 World Cup."

Regarding the overall picture of Asian futsal, Coach Diego Giustozzi believes the level of competition is increasingly high, with up to 10-12 teams capable of competing for World Cup spots.

Therefore, tournaments like the 2026 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship will play a crucial role in helping players accumulate practical experience. "We need to maximize official tournaments so players gain more experience. I am very happy working with the team and witnessing their daily progress."

To prepare for this tournament, the Vietnam national futsal team assembled from March 16 in Ho Chi Minh City before departing to Thailand for training from March 30. During the training phase, the team played two friendly matches with top Thai futsal clubs, Hong Yen Takam and Blackpearl.

After completing the training process, Coach Diego Giustozzi finalized the official list of 14 players, with goalkeeper Tran Van Luong being the only player not included.

Most players in the list have previously participated in international tournaments, except for Nguyen Thac Hieu, a young talent showing great potential who has been given the opportunity to be part of the final squad.

At the 2026 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship, the Vietnam national futsal team is in Group A alongside Myanmar, Timor-Leste, and host Thailand. Among them, Thailand continues to be rated as the strongest opponent and the top contender for the championship. According to the schedule, the Vietnam futsal team will successively face Myanmar (April 6), Timor-Leste (April 7), and Thailand (April 8) in the group stage.

This afternoon (April 5), the Vietnam national futsal team will have an official training session at the Nonthaburi Stadium, a familiar venue for the team as they previously competed there during the 33rd SEA Games.

This is also the final preparation step for Coach Diego Giustozzi and his team before embarking on their journey to conquer the regional tournament, aiming for the broader goal of competing for a World Cup spot in the future.