U23 coach Timor Leste: 'AFF should change the format of the Southeast Asian tournament'

 U23 coach Timor Leste: 'AFF should change the format of the Southeast Asian tournament'

U23 head coach Timor Leste, Mr. Fabio Maciel da Silva, complained that the dense schedule of the Southeast Asian U23 tournament affected the players' health and the quality of matches.

"If possible, the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) should consider adjusting the schedule of this tournament for the health of the players. We played 4 matches in about 11 days, while U23 Vietnam played 3 matches. for 6 days, after yesterday's semi-final, I am really concerned about the health of the players," said U23 coach Timor Leste, Mr. Fabio Maciel da Silva.

Coach Fabio Maciel has no intention of rescheduled the 3rd place match between U23 Timor Leste and U23 Laos to take place one day later. This is not the first time that teams have complained about the performance of the 2022 Southeast Asian U23 tournament.

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U23 coach Timor Leste confirmed that Paulo Gali (No. 21) did not cheat on age. Photo: Nguyen Khang.

He said: "It is not because the Lao team has more rest that makes me think so. Not only us but also U23 Vietnam will also be at a disadvantage when they only have a day off before the final against Thailand."

When asked about the validity of the player Paulo Gali, who appeared in the AFF Cup 2018 with the year of birth 1996, Mr. Fabio confirmed that the student was born in 2004, the right age to attend the tournament.

"This is a good question, using players of the wrong age will affect the image of the players, the team and the tournament organizers. I confirm that Paulo Gali is not cheating, completely old enough to participate in the tournament. U23 Southeast Asia 2022. That has been confirmed by valid evidence," coach Fabio Maciel da Silva replied to Zing.

This is not the first time Paulo Gali has received feedback from Southeast Asian teams in the regional tournament. Paulo is the mainstay of U23 and the Timor Leste national team, making his debut at the 2018 AFF Cup, playing well in the U15 and U19 tournaments in Southeast Asia over the past time.

At the 2022 AFF U23 tournament, Paulo Gali scored a goal to help U23 Timor Leste beat Brunei 3-1 in the group stage. He and his teammates entered the semi-finals and then stopped before U23 Vietnam after a penalty shootout with a score of 3-5. U23 Timor Leste will play the third place match against U23 Laos on February 26.