Coach Hoang Anh Tuan: ‘U23 Vietnam will show a different face in the quarterfinals’

Vietnam lost 0-3 to Uzbekistan in the final round of Group D last night, April 23. The result means that Mr. Tuan and his team ranked second in the group with six points, three points behind Uzbekistan, and will meet the top opponent in Group C, Iraq, in the quarterfinals.

“Iraq lost to Thailand, but they are still a strong team,” coach Hoang Anh Tuan said at the post-match press conference. “Compared to the match against Uzbekistan, Vietnam will show a different face in the quarterfinals, although it will certainly be difficult.”

Against the Central Asian representative, Vietnam only controlled the ball 36% and could have lost 0-5 if the ball did not hit the post. However, because both were sure to advance one round early, the match was only meaningful as a practice session for the quarterfinals. The two teams used many substitute players in the first half, then used all five substitutions in the second half.

Uzbekistan showed that they were not afraid of meeting defending champion Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals, playing a dedicated attack and winning overwhelmingly. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan believes that Uzbekistan’s dominance is normal because the opponent is stronger than Vietnam at all team levels.

“Uzbekistan’s youth teams are much stronger than Vietnam’s,” Mr. Tuan added. “I talked to the Uzbekistan coach and hope they will reach the final.”

In this match, Uzbekistan has two stars playing in Europe: midfielder Abbosbek Fayzullaev of CSKA Moscow (Russia) and midfielder Abdukodir Khusanov of RC Lens (France). Meanwhile, Vietnam welcomed midfielder Nguyen Ngoc Thang back after being suspended for a straight red card in the opening 3-1 win over Kuwait.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan said the midfielder, born in 2002, is still mentally affected and cannot play well against strong opponents. “Losing the match cannot be said to be good, but the error concerns the whole team,” Mr. Tuan said. “Vietnam’s defense faces much greater pressure than in the previous two matches.”

Vietnam will have three days to prepare for the quarter-final match against Iraq, which will take place at 8:30 p.m. local time on April 26, or 0:30 a.m. Hanoi time on April 27.

This match will recreate the 2018 Asian U23 quarterfinals, where the two teams drew 3-3 after 120 minutes, before Vietnam won 5-3 in a penalty shootout. Vietnam then went on to the finals, and lost 1-2 to Uzbekistan in the snow of Changzhou.

Currently, Iraq has a physical advantage thanks to having one more day off than Vietnam. This West Asian representative is also excited because he just beat defending champion Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the last round.

Hieu Luong