U22 Men’s football for SEA Games 2023 will be kick-started from April 29 onward at the National Olympic Stadium.
Addressing a press conference on April 28, the five head coaches in Group A gave their preview on the tournament and reaffirmed their confidence in their respective teams.
Ryu Hirose, Head Coach of Cambodia, was quoted by Cambodia 2023 as saying: “We are very proud to host this tournament. In all tournaments and not just this tournament, it is always difficult in the first match. We are ready for tomorrow (April 29)’s match, and we need to try to control the situation.”
For Indra Sjafri, Head Coach of Indonesia, he said: “We faced each other once at the SEA Games in the Philippines, so I’m pleased we will face each other again. We have already prepared a squad of 20 players, and we are ready for the challenge.”
“I’m quite surprised [by the stadium]. I came here once back in 2019, and it was an artificial turf. But now it is a natural grass, so it is a great change. Even the training pitch is a bit far from here, the pitch is very good.”
Michael Feichtenbeiner, Head Coach of Myanmar, said: “I have coached the team for just two months. We have chances to play a number of matches during our training camp in Thailand with our 20 players. It is the first SEA Games for me as well as for some of our players. We have a young squad, and we are looking forward to all the tough challenges.”
For his part, Robert James Dazo Gier, head coach of the Philippines, said: “We have arrived here longer than the other teams to adapt to the weather and pitch. We have a short preparation, but we have done well. We expect good results at this SEA Games. All the matches are tough. We have some players who used to play at SEA Games before, but it is the first time for the other players.”
Park Soon Tae, head coach of Timor Leste, said: “We are very happy to be here. We will take this SEA Games at Cambodia as an opportunity to get more experience. Tomorrow is the match against the host, and we know that the home supporters will come to fill the stadium, so we are pleased to play and will do our best as we have prepared for many months for this tournament.”
Indonesia will take on the Philippines in the opening Group A match, while host Cambodia will face Timor Leste, with both matches played at the National Stadium this evening.
As scheduled, besides Timor-Leste, Cambodia will have matches with the Philippines on May 2, Myanmar on May 7 and Indonesia on May 10.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse