Vietnam’s men’s futsal team held their first training session at Meshcherskyi Arena after settling in Nizhny Novgorod, the Vietnam Football Federation said. The venue is also scheduled to host friendlies against Russia on 8 and 10 November.
The session moved Diego Giustozzi’s squad from travel into on-court preparation. The VFF said the arena provided suitable conditions for players to become familiar with the surface, despite cold weather and snowfall outside.
Recovery after the journey
An earlier federation update said the team travelled from Kyrgyzstan to Moscow and continued by bus. They reached Nizhny Novgorod at about 4:30 a.m. local time on 7 November and rested at their hotel following the long journey.
Players brought warm clothing and equipment from Vietnam. Bóng Đá reported a roughly two-hour airport delay involving entry procedures for two coaches, followed by a road journey of about 450 kilometres. Meshcherskyi is the home venue of MFK Torpedo, a club competing in Russia’s futsal Super League.
The VFF placed Russia seventh in the world at the time of its report. The meetings offer Vietnam an opportunity to assess their squad against international opposition.
Playing time for younger players
Giustozzi told his players that the staff want to give younger members direct international experience. That approach contrasts with concentrating playing time on experienced players solely to prioritise winning, the federation reported.
Bóng Đá cited the September 2026 FIFA rankings with Vietnam in 20th place. The newspaper also reported that the sides drew 2-2 at the Continental Futsal Championship in Thailand in August, where Russia finished first and Vietnam second. That was an earlier meeting, not a result from the forthcoming games in Russia.
The VFF said both friendlies are scheduled at the arena where the team trained. See the national-team section: Vietnam national team fixtures.