Myanmar U22 head coach Gerd Zeise has set the semi-finals as the target for his charges at the 2017 SEA Games.
The German coach believes his team can achieve the target based on their silver-medal finish at Singapore 2015, when they lost 3-0 to Thailand in the final.
“We must first clear the preliminary hurdles before thinking about the semi-finals. I’m confident my boys will be ready for the challenge,” Zeise told reporters after the team’s arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Friday, as quoted by the Star.
However, Zeise still warned his players not to underestimate the other teams in Group A, including hosts Malaysia, Singapore, Laos and Brunei.
“We cannot underestimate our rivals. Malaysia are a strong team. Singapore are OK, we have played them before (and won), Laos are improving while Brunei are also OK, not too strong,” he said to The Straits Times.
Myanmar will kick-off their campaign against Singapore on 14 August at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium.