Viet Nam will play Libya in their first game of the Ha Noi International Futsal (indoor football) tournament at the Quan Ngua Sports Centre on Friday.
Ahead of the match, Chinese Taipei will meet Qatar in the opening game of the two-day round robin tournament.
The hosts will play Taipei on Saturday before taking on Qatar in their last match on Sunday.
The winners will walk away with US$5,000, while the runners-up and third place will take $5,000 and $1,000 respectively.
Viet Nam have been training in HCM City for the tournament since September under Italian coach Sergio Gargelli.
"The tournament will be tough for us because Libya, Qatar and Taipei are strong. However, if we want to progress, we should play against strong teams. We would like to win the trophy," Gargelli told a press conference yesterday.
"Futsal is still a new sport in Viet Nam and it needs to be promoted," he added.
Viet Nam came third at the ASEAN Futsal Championships in April.
The country plans to host the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Championships in 2012.
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The 1.94m Khanh Hoa native is the men's team's main spiker.
Viet Nam plan to send 260 athletes to Guangzhou to compete in 29 of 42 sports, and target at least five gold medals.
Their footballers became the first Vietnamese athletes to move into the athletes' village after the team arrived on Friday.
The Games open on Friday and the Vietnamese sports delegation organised a gala in the Military Theatre in Ha Noi last night to encourage the athletes headed for China.
Thang's injury adds to football team's woes
Nguyen Viet Thang's injury has added to the football team's woes ahead of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) championship next month where they will be the defending champions.
Thang is the team's main striker in the absence of the Le Cong Vinh and Calisto's reluctance to trust Nguyen Quang Hai and Le Sy Manh.
According to the national team doctor, Nguyen Trong Hien, Thang's ligament injury following a collision with a Singapore player in the match in Ha Noi last Thursday is quite serious.
"Thang will have to take complete rest and it will take him at least one month to recover," he said.
Thang's participation in the AFF champs is still in the balance. — VNS
