U23 Vietnam clashed with U23 Iraq as the “underdog”, but coach Hoang Anh Tuan did not hesitate to let his students play proactively from the beginning. The red shirt players press high and when they have the ball, they actively push the opponent to the back of the field.
However, U23 Iraq still had the first chance due to Van Khang’s mistake, who carelessly cleared the ball, causing Van Chuan to block the opponent’s kick. U23 Iraq began to impose the position of the game with many passes down the border, but the U23 Vietnam defense played discreetly and intervened in the situation at the right time. At the end of the first half, both teams had their chances, no goals were scored after the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, the match became more open and there were continuous tit-for-tat situations. However, in the 59th minute, Vietnam’s U23 defense let Watifi inside the penalty area, and Van Chuan’s attempt to stop Watifi led to a foul and a penalty. On the 11m mark, Ali Jasim did not make any mistakes to open the score for the West Asian team.
Receiving a goal, the spirit and physical strength of Vietnam’s U23 players went down, causing very limited opportunities to be created. Even in stoppage time, Manh Hung received a direct red card after stepping directly on Ali Jasim’s foot.
Playing without players, U23 Vietnam was powerless to find an equalizer. Losing to Iraq in the end 0-1, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team officially stopped in the quarterfinals and lost hope of attending the Olympics.
Despite being eliminated, coach Hoang Anh Tuan did not blame his students but instead praised him. “As I said, U23 Vietnam will get better with each match. In this competition, you can see how U23 Vietnam played and how different it was. Our opponent today is not U23 Kuwait or U23 Malaysia, but U23 Iraq. Facing such a strong opponent, U23 Vietnam played very well in terms of tactics, expertise and playing spirit. We played very fair football. I’m happy about that,” coach Hoang Anh Tuan said at the press conference after the match with U23 Iraq.
The Khanh Hoa coach added: “Watching this tournament, we can see the prominent role of VAR. Many penalties, yellow cards, and red cards appeared. Many teams suffered, not just us. About Manh Hung’s red card? I think Manh Hung’s error does not deserve a red card, but perhaps the law, referee and VAR want to bring better football. As for the U23 Vietnamese players, I don’t complain because I understand there are situations where they do not have enough time and space to make decisions. I sympathize with him but do not support him.”
