The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the annual National Coaches Online Session 2023 to analyze the performance of the Asian teams during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament.
The virtual workshop, which featured a star-studded line-up of some of the world's most celebrated football personalities, including the likes of German legend Jurgen Klinsmann and Switzerland's Pascal Zuberbuhler, was yet another indication of the Confederation's determination in ensuring the success of Asian teams on the world stage.
The program started with AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh giving participants a comprehensive overview of the performance of Asian teams in the World Cup.
"While there is still a long way to go, this FIFA World Cup was a wonderful demonstration of the potential that Asian teams possess," said Roxburgh.
He added: "The Asian teams took on some of the biggest European and South American teams and produced results which have given us grounds for optimism."
The programme then delved into an in-depth discussion with the coaches of the Asian squads at the FIFA World Cup as they highlighted some of the common trends, drawing attention to the high number of goals that were scored from collective counter-attacks and crosses while also pointing out the distinct fall in the conversion rates of set-pieces.
The experts also alluded to the need for Asian teams to uplift their mental and physical fortitude as well as the requirement for coaches to develop a clear game plan for the teams to follow.
The conversation then moved on to the ever-evolving role of the modern goalkeeper where Swiss legend and FIFA Senior Football Expert Pascal Zuberbuhler emphasised the need for goalkeepers to be more in sync with the defensive line.
Participants got the opportunity to hear from 1990 FIFA World Cup champion and newly appointed Korea Republic Head Coach, Jurgen Klinsmann who hailed the laser sharp focus that was flaunted by some of the Asian teams, helping them power past former world champions such as Germany and Spain.
Before the virtual meeting concluded, participants discussed the key learnings from the tournament for long-term development, such as increasing the opportunity to play competitively at the elite youth level and the need to educate young players in the art of reading the game.
