Arnold sets title target as head coach names Australia squad

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Arnold sets title target as head coach names Australia squad

Sydney: Australia announced their squad for the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 on Monday, with head coach Graham Arnold targeting the title.

Australia’s U23 men’s national team for next month’s tournament will feature 14 players representing 8 A-League clubs, with nine members of Graham Arnold’s squad set to arrive in Southeast Asia from overseas-based teams.

Ones To Watch: Group A

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Ones To Watch: Group A

Kuala Lumpur: A foursome of fearsome forwards are the main men to watch out for in Group A of the AFC U23 Championship 2020 containing hosts Thailand, inaugural winners Iraq, Australia and Bahrain.

The quartet will go into the campaign on the back of a strong 2019 and, in what is likely to be a closely contested group, their countries' hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds of the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 could rest upon their form in front of goal in Southeast Asia.

Ones To Watch: Group B

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Ones To Watch: Group B

Kuala Lumpur: The latest graduate from the vaunted Aspire Academy, the J.League's best young player and two West Asian starlets, Group B of the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 boasts a quartet of talented tyros worth looking out for.

A group that involves four of Asia's biggest sides in Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Syria is set up to be one of the most intriguing, with some of the Continent's best next generation on display.

We have selected a player from each side who could be the stand-out.

Japan send warning to rivals with big win over Jamaica

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Japan send warning to rivals with big win over Jamaica

Nagasaki: Japan flexed their muscles ahead of the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 with a 9-0 win over Jamaica in a friendly at the Transcosmos Stadium in Nagasaki on Saturday.

Japan were on the front foot from the first blow of the referee's whistle and their early pressure saw Yuta Nakayama putting the 2016 AFC U23 Championship winners side ahead in the fifth minute.

Nishino wants Thailand to rise to the challenge

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Nishino wants Thailand to rise to the challenge

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.

We can show we’re Asia’s best, insists Korea Republic's Lee

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

We can show we’re Asia’s best, insists Korea Republic's Lee

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.

Success fuelling Vietnam's determination for further excellence

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Success fuelling Vietnam's determination for further excellence

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.