The annual National Coaches Online Session 2023 was held by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to assess how the Asian nations fared in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 competition.
The virtual workshop was yet another demonstration of the Confederation’s commitment to ensuring the success of Asian teams on the international stage. It featured a star-studded lineup of some of the world’s most renowned football personalities, including the likes of German legend Jurgen Klinsmann and Switzerland’s Pascal Zuberbuhler.
AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh gave attendees a thorough rundown of how Asian teams fared at the World Cup as the program’s opening presentation.
Even if there is still much to be done, this FIFA World Cup was a fantastic showcase of the potential that Asian teams have, according to Roxburgh.
The Asian teams competed against some of the top European and South American teams, and their performances have given us cause for optimism, he continued.
The program then went into depth with the coaches of the Asian teams at the FIFA World Cup to discuss some of the common trends. They drew attention to the significant increase in goals from collective counterattacks and crosses as well as the noticeable decline in set-piece conversion rates.
The experts also made mention of the need for Asian teams to improve both their physical and mental toughness as well as the necessity for coaches to create a detailed game plan that the teams could adhere to.
The discussion then turned to the constantly changing job of the contemporary goalie, and Pascal Zuberbuhler, a Swiss icon and Senior Football Expert for FIFA, emphasized the necessity of goalkeepers being more in tune with the defensive line.
Jurgen Klinsmann, the Korea Republic’s recently appointed head coach and the 1990 FIFA World Cup winner, spoke to the audience and praised some of the Asian teams for their laser-like focus in defeating former world champions Germany and Spain.
Before the virtual meeting came to an end, participants reviewed the most important lessons from the competition for long-term development, such as expanding opportunities for elite youth players to compete, and the necessity of teaching young players the skill of reading the game.
