Thailand plans to send its U19 rather than its U23 squad to a regional football competition. Angered, Coach Calisto may pull Vietnam’s U23 squad from the tournament.

The U-23 team in a drilling at the My Dinh national stadium.

The so-called pre-Southeast Asian games are a friendly football tournament for the U23 (players 23 years old and under) teams of Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Malaysia. They allow the national squads to practice before the Southeast Asia Games 2009 begin in December in Vientiane

For coaches, this is an important opportunity to study their rivals’ capabilities. However, Thailand has intimated that it will send its U19 team to the event, which would deprive rival teams of the chance to study their Thai opponents.

“If Thailand sends their nineteen year-olds, that is poor behavior on their part,” Calisto asserted. “If it happens, I will consider whether Vietnam U23 squad will join the tournament or not.”

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) reported that it has not received an official announcement from Thailand or Laos about this issue. VFF stated that it would respect any decision made by Coach Calisto.

VietNamNet/VNE