Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hanoi: As the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 rapidly approaches, one of the stars of the 2018 edition has recalled one of the most iconic moments in the tournament’s history.
At a snow-clad Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre, Nguyen Quang Hai curled home a stunning free-kick to draw Vietnam level with Uzbekistan in the final with what would later become renowned in the Southeast Asian nation as the ‘Rainbow in the Snow’.
While the young Golden Stars went on to lose the match 2-1 after a goal in the last minute of extra-time, the campaign saw both Quang Hai and a talented young Vietnamese team gain recognition across the Continent and began a two-year period in which they have achieved success after success.
Now, with the 2020 edition set to kick off in Thailand on January 6, Park Hang-seo’s team will begin the competition among the favourites to lift the title and also qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as one of the top three sides.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/nguyen_quang_hai_2_2.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/afc_u-23_championship_2020_-_vietnam_vs_thailand.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/nguyen_quang_hai_1.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hanoi: As 2019 enters its last days, Vietnam can look back on two years of phenomenal development with the runners-up finish in the 2018 AFC U23 Championship followed by numerous successes, climaxing with the Southeast Asian nation ending a 60-year wait for the SEA Games gold medal earlier in December.
Vietnam are now the undisputed kings of ASEAN football, having added the 2019 SEA Games gold to the 2018 AFF Cup title.
The results of the various national teams, explains Vietnam Football Federation Vice-President Dr Tran Quoc Tuan to the-AFC.com, has massively boosted interest in the game and the Southeast Asian nation is determined to take the next step forward.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Akira Nishino knows what it takes to deliver when the pressure is on, but as he prepares to lead hosts Thailand into the AFC U23 Championship 2020, the former Japan head coach is under no illusions over the size of the task facing him and his players.
The 64-year-old has one of the most illustrious resumes in Asian football, having broken his home nation’s Olympic qualification drought in 1996, won the AFC Champions League with Gamba Osaka in 2008 and led the Samurai Blue to the knockout rounds at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Now, six months after being appointed head coach of Thailand’s U23 and senior national sides, Nishino enters the Finals of his first continental competition leading his new charges knowing the odds are stacked against him.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Seoul: Lee Dong-gyeong believes that the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 provides the perfect opportunity for Korea Republic to prove they are the best team on the Continent.
The East Asians have been one of the strongest teams in the competition over the years, finishing runners-up in 2016 and reaching the semi-finals in 2014 and 2018 but, despite always finishing in the top four sides, they have yet to lift the title.
Korea Republic will again begin the tournament as one of the favourites to be crowned champions and Ulsan Hyundai midfielder Lee is desperate for his country to claim a trophy that has so far eluded them.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Experienced Buriram United attacker Supachok Sarachak is aiming to fire the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 hosts to new heights at January's Continental competition.
Thailand have appeared in two of three editions of the AFC U23 Championship but, unlike regional rivals Malaysia and Vietnam, they are yet to appear in the knockout stage, suffering group stage eliminations at Qatar 2016 and China PR 2018.
Now, with the tournament hosted on home soil, star forward Supachok believes that it could be Thailand's time to shine in the Continental competition.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Baghdad: Iraq captain Ali Kadhim has set his sights on lifting the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 title and following in the footsteps of previous generations by qualifying for the Olympic Games in Tokyo next summer.
The Lions of Mesopotamia have a proud record in the AFC U23 Championship, winning the inaugural edition – when it was the AFC U-22 Championship – in Oman before finishing third in Qatar two years later to book their ticket to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
While they exited at the group stage in Brazil, the West Asians were unbeaten and secured an excellent scoreless draw with the hosts, who eventually won the competition.
Twelve years earlier in Athens, meanwhile, Iraq narrowly missed out on the bronze medal after finishing fourth following a closely fought 1-0 loss to Italy in the third place play-off.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The AFC U23 Championship headed east for the first time in early 2018 as China’s Jiangsu province hosted the third edition of the Continental showpiece and a tournament that saw the emergence of stars that would shine on Asia's biggest stage a year later.
Almoez Ali and Nguyen Quang Hai were two names, in particular, that enjoyed superb campaigns for Qatar and Vietnam respectively, although it was the collective effort of Uzbekistan’s White Wolves that ultimately ruled supreme.
Elsewhere, hosts China disappointed while powerhouses Japan, Korea Republic and Iraq failed to live up to expectations in a tournament that once again served up many moments to remember.