QatarAccording to coach Hoang Anh Tuan, his team did not play badly and only failed because the referee consulted VAR and then penalized 11m, causing Vietnam to lose 0-1 to Iraq in the quarterfinals of the U23 Asian Championship.
In the 60th minute, when the score was 0-0, goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan collided with Nihad Mohammed in Vietnam’s penalty area. After consulting VAR, the referee decided to blow a penalty and give the Vietnamese goalkeeper a yellow card. Slow motion shows Van Chuan impacting Mohammed’s chest, in a situation where the ball was out of the Iraqi striker’s control. From the 11m mark, Ali Jasim scored a goal to help Iraq overcome Vietnam and win a ticket to the semi-finals of the U23 Asian Championship.
When asked about the controversial penalty situation at Janoub Stadium in Doha, coach Hoang Anh Tuan said he only focuses on professionalism, cares about how his players play, and not on a personal level. Can’t say whether the penalty was right or wrong. “That’s the referee’s job. The match is over, I don’t want to repeat that situation again. But, it’s a shame that the match was decided by an 11m penalty,” he said.
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan answered the press conference at Janoub Stadium in Doha after the 0-1 loss to Iraq in the 2024 U23 Asian Championship. Photo: AFC.
Before receiving the penalty, Vietnam had a reasonable strategy, played confidently and retaliated against strong opponent Iraq. After conceding a goal, the team was forced to push their formation higher to attack, but the force was helpless. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s students were inferior in terms of size, physical strength and technique, and were almost unable to reach Iraq’s goal in the last minutes. The team’s hope seemed to be gone after VAR advised the referee to disqualify Nguyen Manh Hung – who tackled Jasim with the ball under his shoe in the first minute of injury time.
According to Mr. Tuan, the role of VAR is very prominent in this tournament, having a lot of influence on red cards, yellow cards as well as penalties of many teams, not just Vietnam. “I think the foul situations that VAR points out can always happen in football. VAR helps apply football rules more strictly, but there are situations that I think do not deserve a red card. VAR, important Talent and law want football to become better,” Mr. Tuan added.
Vietnamese players greet the audience after losing 0-1 to Iraq in the quarterfinals, stopping at the U23 Asian Championship. Image: AFC.
Vietnam is not highly rated when entering the 2024 Asian U23 tournament. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan only had 10 days to work with the players, after being appointed to replace Philippe Troussier. However, the team defeated Kuwait 3-1 and Indonesia 2-0 to soon win a ticket to the next round, before losing to Uzbekistan in the procedural final series of Group D. Against strong opponent Iraq, the team also played reasonably. and only lost by a minimal margin.
“Vietnam aims for beautiful and fair play despite unforeseen situations. At the end of the match, even though we had to receive a red card, we still chose an attacking style of play, determined until the last minute. Because of this will help young players develop better,” coach Hoang Anh Tuan said.
According to the Khanh Hoa coach, after each match in the tournament, the team improved. He affirmed: “In this match, my players showed many different things compared to previous matches. Remember, the opponent this time is Iraq, not Kuwait or Malaysia. With such a strong team, We all saw how Vietnam played today. They have improved professionally and tactically. I feel happy about that.”
Lam Tho
